Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 27, 2008
I haven't been posting much lately because I've been feeling pretty rough for the past week. My doctor ordered more blood tests to be done and they came back higher.. we'll see what she says now.
I can't keep living like this.
Posted byTasha at 8:44 PM 1 comments
Maggiano's
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday night has generally been reserved for my friend Josh to eat dinner together.. At least since I graduated from college. The planning usually happens around 4PM on Friday when I realize we haven't decided on what restaurant we're trying or repeating. Sometimes I make dinner, but lately my gluten-free meals have not been mastered. Undercooked pizza crust? He ate it anyway and even the last piece on my plate.
We showed up at a tapas restaurant first and after learning of their hour wait at 7:30PM Josh decided we needed to go somewhere else. He called Maggiano's in the parking lot of the other restaurant to confirm I could eat something. They had the gluten-free pasta in stock so we were set. Maggiano's wait was 45 minutes and the waitress was missing a lot once we were seated, but at least her bubbly self never swayed so if we had to wait 10 minutes to get water that's OK!
The restaurant was jam packed so really I shouldn't complain. We were both irritable from the lack of food. The waitress asked if we had ever dined there before and while we both said yes I flew into my question mode not even allowing to explain the specials or whatever she might announce. We weren't there to enjoy a romantic dinner so we didn't need to order after the appetizer came out. I sent her on a mission to find out about the caesar salad sans the croutons and ordered the gluten-free pasta with alfredo sauce and broccoli. Then at the last second I remembered to order a Redbridge beer.
I tried a gluten-free beer my first night of being gluten-free and after two sips I decided I wasted the $5-6 I spent on it. Redbridge was different. For the first beer I've had in over a month it was very refreshing. It is a full-bodied lager with a rich taste. It was my appetizer while Josh devoured the loaf of bread by himself. I was a little jealous watching him soak up the chewy bread in a pool of olive oil. (see the photograph above that Josh snapped with his iPhone)
The salad arrived and we polished it off without any conversation. It was the best part of the meal. My favorite caesar dressing pre gluten-free isn't gluten free. Which reminds me to get back in the kitchen and make my own!
Dinner showed up and it looks like I picked out the kid's pasta with an adult portion. I'm not sure if they make a separate sauce or if the sauce is just absorbed differently with the corn pasta. It wasn't fluid at all. It needed to be topped with parmesan plus salt and pepper. The broccoli was a little undercooked, but amazing I was eating gluten-free at a restaurant where the server had at least heard of the word.
Leftovers for lunch today!
Posted byTasha at 9:54 AM 0 comments
Labels: alcohol, beer, restaurants
Five Guys Burgers
Friday, November 21, 2008
With only one known gluten "oops" I've done pretty well being gluten-free for the past month. I've gone from wanting to hide under my desk M-F and sleeping as soon as I got home to being wide awake at 10PM!
Anyhoo... I had my second lunch out in a month (first was at Wendy's). I read somewhere that Five Guys was pretty gluten-free except for the bun. This morning I decided that is where I was going for lunch regardless if I had to go by myself. Luckily two of my coworkers were up for the 15 minute ride to grab a cup of fries and a messy burger with me.
When I started ordering I knew the cashier was going to yell out "regular!" as soon as I said I wanted a burger. I stopped him and said make sure they didn't make mine with a bun. He didn't even try to hide that I seemed nuts by rolling his eyes and then searching around for the "no bun" option on the register.
I ate my incredibly messy burger with my foil and left with a smile.
Yesterday I had a skin allergy test with the most obnoxious doctor and I found out a new food allergy: oysters. Luckily I don't mind...
Posted byTasha at 2:28 PM 0 comments
Labels: restaurants
Pomelo
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The photograph that I took above was taken in Hong Kong when I went on a business trip to China last February. One of my coworkers that works in China had his wife Pandora come along on my one day off to Hong Kong. Pandora and I walked the street market and I spotted these enormous green pomelo. At the time I had no idea what it entailed and Pandora called it a Thai grapefruit. She bought one for me to try. I was ecstatic.
Then I spotted one at Whole Foods this weekend. I grabbed one hoping this is what I shared with Pandora and her family after my farewell dinner. It was one of those moments where you share something so simple and yet you remember it for a lifetime.
A pomelo is like a mild grapefruit. It has pink flesh and an obnoxiously thick rind. Its a chore to remove the rind and sections, but worth the work to get to the fruit. Maybe it'll lose its novelty if I spot them every time at Whole Foods..
Posted byTasha at 11:05 AM 0 comments
Sesame Chicken
Saturday, November 15, 2008
When I lived in Savannah there was a restaurant my friend Bobby and I went to practically every week. Neither one of us had to be begged in order to grab lunch or dinner there. The name of the place was Sakura and pretty much everything was Americanized Japanese food. They served sushi, udon, and the infamous sesame chicken that of course is only really served here in US. The sushi was cheap, but definitely not even worth it. For good sushi you had to go down the street to the ultra snobby Sushi Zen where there were no free refills.. (unheard of in Georgia!)
Anytime I had the opportunity to ask someone from Asia about the sesame chicken they'd roll their eyes and tell me it definitely wasn't authentic. It had a dark red sugary sauce with sesame seeds atop fried pieces of chicken that was served alongside a few pieces of broccoli and a fresh scoop of white rice. I haven't had it in a year a half since I last visited Savannah. Now I'm afraid I couldn't try it without getting sick.
I've tried making some Asian-inspired dishes over the years and something is always amiss. One thing I've learned is that oil has to remain hot and not to overload the pan with too much food at once.
Gluten Free Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 large whole boneless chicken breasts, 1" cubes
- sesame seeds
- vegetable oil - for frying
- broccoli & white rice for the side dish
Marinade
- 2 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sherry
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 tablespoons of cornstarch (+ 4 more)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking power
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
Sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon apple cider
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons wheat free soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Cock sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
- Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken for 20 minutes. After marinating, add an additional 4 tablespoons of corn starch.
- Mix together all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a pot and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. After the sauce has thickened, turn the heat and set aside.
- To cook the chicken, add the marinated chicken pieces a few at a time (this is important!), and deep-fry until golden brown. Remove and place on paper towels to absorb the excess oil. Repeat until all the chicken is cooked.
- Put all the chicken in the sauce and stir. Remove and place on a plate. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on the chicken. Serve with broccoli and steamed white rice.
Posted byTasha at 5:11 PM 0 comments
Penne with Sausage and Zucchini Marinara
Thursday, November 13, 2008
One of the items I first picked up on my gluten-free shopping spree was a box of gluten-free pasta. I don't even recall the brand, I just remember it didn't taste good. I knew it couldn't be that bad if other people ate it with no complaints - there had to be a better brand. Luckily I found a better brand on first reattempt.
I made a marinara sauce to pair with the penne. Anything with sausage tastes better in my opinion...
Penne with Sausage and Zucchini Marinara
- 3 tablespoons of olive oil
- 2 Sweet Italian sausage links, sliced into thin sections
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons of Italian spices
- Fresh basil to taste
- 1 bag of gluten-free pasta
Boil a pot of water. Cook the pasta according to the directions.
Posted byTasha at 7:27 PM 0 comments
Asian Inspired Beef & Tofu Salad
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Making a new recipe without following the directions is something that is fine by me.. until I need to actually record what I made on here.
On the drive home from work I thought about making pizza again. However, I didn't feel like driving to Publix to buy toppings - I knew my "International Farmer's Market" a few blocks away wouldn't carry what I wanted. So I opted for plan B - Asian inspired meal from my Kung Pao Chicken which I perfected last night - except didn't bother to photograph it so I'll have to share it later.
Ingredients thrown into a giant bowl:
- Bean sprouts
- Snow peas sliced in half lengthwise
- Romaine lettuce
- Peanuts
- Sirloin steak cooked and thinly sliced
- Fried tofu cubes
- Green onion, sliced
- Green pepper, diced
- Cilantro
- Thai Basil
- Wheat free soy sauce
- Fresh grated ginger
- Garlic clove
- Sesame oil
- Lime Juice
Posted byTasha at 6:47 PM 1 comments
Labels: beef, salad, thai, tofu
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