Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup!

I had the crud last week and so I made my own chicken noodle soup. It was a great success and I happily ate it all week.

Ingredients:

-chicken sausage, pieced

-3 cloves garlic, minced (a natural antibiotic)

-2 stalks celery, chopped

-2 carrots, peeled and chopped

-1/2 onion, chopped (anti-inflammatory)

-1 cup frozen sweet corn

-4 cups chicken broth

-1/2 box quinoa pasta

-1 tsp oregano

-1 tsp basil

-1 dash of tumeric (anti-inflammatory)

-1 dash fo cayenne pepper (decongestant :-)

-Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

-Saute the onion and garlic. Add the chicken and cook through.

-Add other vegetables.

-Slowly add in broth and pasta, bring to boil for 8-10 min. and then allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes

The soup was delicious, hearty, spicy, and perfect for the winter cold. Highly recommended.

Classes at Portland's Culinary Workshop

Last week I signed up for two classes at the Portland's Culinary Workshop. I took the Four Course Gluten Free Meal and Gluten Free Baking. Both were excellent! The chefs were great: Melinda and Susana both ex-instructors at culinary schools. The classes were small, hands on, and relevant to my cooking. I hope to go back soon!

Four Course Gluten Free Meal
Menu:
Arugula Fennel Salad with Pumpkin Seeds and Dijon Vinaigrette
Zucchini Fritters with Charmoula Sauce
Roasted Chicken
Squash Gratin with Poblanos
Chocolate Tart with Pecan Crust



We sat and feasted at the end of the night!



Roasted butternut squash for the au gratin.



Shredded zucchini for fritters.



Ingredients to the charmoula sauce



Blackened poblanos for the au gratin, yum!



Frying fritters!



Ingredients for the chocolate tart: agave, coconut butter, avocado, cocoa powder

Our FEAST:









It was all fantastic and I can put up their recipes eventually or per request. Class made me realize how much I LOVE to talk about food. I could do it for hours. :)

Gluten Free Baking
There were only four of in the class so we each picked some items and went for it. They turned out pretty good.

Menu:
Crackers-I hadn't had a cracker in two years!
Focaccia
Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Sandwich Bread
Pancakes
Fresh Egg Gluten Free Pasta
Chocolate Cake

This was certainly my first go at gluten free pasta from scratch. It worked great. It even made it through a pasta slicer. The pasta does taste like egg but that's ok.









Testing out two types for a plate of fun.



Mom came too and made sandwich bread.



\

Wow it looked great! Good work mom!



Focaccia bread



Recipes are available per request. Class was great. I loved cooking class and can't believe I don't do it regularly. I recommend the classes at Portland's Culinary Workshop for fun, laid back cooking.

My Favorites of Allergy-Free Portland

After attending my first cooking class at the Portland Culinary Workshop (which I will post about soon), I realized I ought to make a master list of the best gluten free restaurants, food carts, etc. So here is my quick version of my Gluten Free Guide to Portland:

1. Cafe Rio Co.
Gluten Free Waffles (Dairy free options): My favorite is the waffle ranchero!
21st and W Burnside

2. Corbett Fish House/Hawthorne Fish House
Gluten Free Fish and Chips: My favorite is the halibut fish and chips!
5901 SW Corbett or 43rd and SE Hawthorne

3. Mississippi Pizza and Pub
Gluten Free Pizza (Vegan options): My favorite is the GF Vegan pizza crust with red sauce, no cheese, canadian bacon, pepperoni, mushroom, and black olive. Classic!
NE Fremont and Mississippi

4. Por Que No?
Mexican-they use corn tortillas, chips, etc (Dairy free options): My favorite is a Brian's bowl with chips!
46th and SE Hawthorne or NE Fremont and Mississippi

5. P.F. Changs
Gluten Free Asian cuisine (Full menu). My favorite is the GF lettuce wraps and the scallops!
11th and NW Couch or Tanasbourne

6. The Dog House Food Cart
Gluten Free Hamburgers. My favorite is the GF sweet potato tots!
21st and NE Alberta

7. The Gluten Free Chef Food Cart
Rotating menu-corndogs and chili (not many dairy free options)
20th and SE Everett

Other Resources
Gluten Free Food Carts
Gluten Free Portland

A Great Happy Hour!

My sister, friend and I were out vintage shopping and decided to stop at Brasserie Monmarte for happy hour. To our surprise it was utterly fantastic. It was chic, classy, and delicious. It was also surprising allergy free even though the French cannot could without crème. 

Here are some of our dishes:

Les Frites flavored with duck fat and rosemary with garlic aioli. These were rich and fantastic. I can't wait to try the other ones: Pork belly and tarragon and truffle and black truffle. Yum!

Mussels frites: Chorizo, padrone peppers, piments, broth. These mussels were huge! This was honestly the first time I had ordered just mussels and I'm so glad to start with these.

 

For heaven's sake I had to post this Croque Madame that a friend ordered. Not in any way allergy free but beautiful none the less.  I believe is was a grilled pork belly and gruyére sandwich topped with a fried egg and béchamel sauce. Sinful.

 

 Well if anyone wants to go here just call me and I'll meet you there! I'll be going back soon. :)

Eating in Vegas!

     Well, I headed to Las Vegas for a weekend to attend a wedding. I looked up this Celebrity restaurant weeks in advanced and was excited to have dinner with my friend Fran. Spanish cuisine was of course what I was interested in. Italian is a silly endeavor for one with gluten allergies and I miss Spain after living there in college. Julian Serrano's restaurant in the Aria Hotel was my pick.

 

Charcuterie

 

 

Aceitunas

 

Paella Marinera

 

Bacon wrapped dates that unfortunately came out breaded but still very beautiful.

It was a splendid meal with splendid company!

My first crock pot experience!

Well, thanks to sis I recently attained a crockpot for the first time in my life. I decided to try it out the other day and this is what I came up with.

Turkey Chili (recipe adjusted from LauraKKH)




-1 lb ground turkey browned and drained
-1 can of kidney beans, drained
-1 can of black beans, drained
-1 can of tomato soup
-1/2 an onion, chopped
-3 cloves garlic, minced (YUM)
-2 TBS chili powder
-1/2 TBS ground cumin
-Fresh tomatoes, chopped
-Salt and Pepper



Let cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. This is another great dish where you can use what's in the fridge! Zucchini, onion, celery etc. Throw it in and leave it. What a great experience. I look forward to more!