Pesto Grilled Veggie Pizza- one on Chebe crust (front) and the other slice (back) on Carol’s crust…
Last weekend Dh and I hosted the monthly potluck for our Celiac Bay Area group. I had sent out a call for food matching a “spring mediterranean” theme, and we ended up with an absolutely amazing feast. Just goes to show, this whole gluten-intolerance thing can inspire some serious creativity in the kitchen! For appetizers we had Bruschetta made on Mariposa Bakerires GF DF NF Baguette, Caponata on the same bruschetta toast, Dolma (Stuffed Grape AND Stuffed Cabbage Leaves with veg and non-veg versions). We also had a lovely salad, and then… the main course dishes! We had TONS of pizza. I guess when gluten-free folks like myself think mediterranean, we can’t help but think PIZZA! One thing about our group that keeps things interesting is that we aren’t all JUST gluten-free. We also have folks with other allergies to things like beans, dairy, eggs, and even nuts. So, I always try to make a little extra effort so everyone can eat as many things as possible. With that in mind, I modified the heck out of a flatbread recipe by Bette Hagman to make an olive flatbread with no DAIRY, no SOY, no EGGS, and no NUTS. I also made some special pizzas using Carol Fenster’s awesome pizza recipe (a staple in my house for the last ten years at least, I swear!) with no allergens that were also just plain YUMMY! I made two kinds of “pesto” pizzas- one for our super-complex-allergy member out of slow roasted tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and high quality olive oil with NO NUTS whatsoever, and then a variation on my usual dairy-free basil pesto pizzas. Then I topped both with various home grilled veggies as the spirit moved me. I also made some variations with cheese because it DOES add a little extra flavor oomph— but I do think that pizza doesn’t need it to be scrumptious. Other members brought non-veg cheese pizzas, and another brought a moroccan orange non-veg dish, and a vegetarian ratatouille. We had one special guest- Dana from Gluten-free Gourmet, a baker who has recently started selling her gluten-free products at the Saratoga Farmer’s Market on Saturdays. Dana brought a shrimp-cheese pizza and a delicious carrot cake with cheese frosting to share with us for dessert. Non-GF DH thoroughly enjoyed it- although I think for him, it was all about the frosting. I thought it was an excellent treat as well, and just wish Saratoga wasn’t so far away! (You can see the photo of Dana’s treat on the left.) Speaking of dessert, one talented member actually brought Fresh Orange Slices with Honey and Cinnamon as well as Turkish Delight, a.k.a. Lokum. I made No-refined-sugar, dairy-free, soy-free Coconut Lemon Bars. (I’ll be sharing the recipe soon.) For beverages we had a variety of wines and Dugh, a very intriguing Fizzy Yogurt Drink. (Really! fizzy! Think a salty lassi with bubbles.) It was an amazing feast.

And now- for the recipes! One of the most interesting recipes that I made for this potluck was a totally allergen-free sundried tomato pizza. As you may know, I have been happily using Carol Fenster’s pizza recipe, available at her Savory Palate web site and in many of her books, for a very long time. I have developed some special tricks for working with the dough over the years that I really wanted to share it with you, but since I don’t publish recipes by gluten-free cookbook authors without permisison, I emailed Carol Fenster for permission to reprint a modified version of the recipe. She graciously gave permission, so you can see the recipe below, modified to be dairy free and vegetarian and including my dough tricks. Carol recently released Gluten-Free Quick & Easy: From Prep to Plate Without the Fuss. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m sure it’s full of great recipes just like her others. Two of my favorite gluten-free recipes ever have come from Carol Fenster- her pizza crust and her equally yummy flatbread. I also like her recipes for their flexibility with flours- if you have multiple flour allergies besides gluten, you can easily adjust her master flour blends to accommodate those intolerances, with excellent results. So, if you haven’t tried any of Carol’s recipes yet- I hope you will, and if you’re a long term fan like many of us, I hope you’ll take this chance to check out her new cookbook!

For another grilled veggie pizza, see my post on The Best Gluten-Free Pizza ever.

This just in…

I have heard from a reliable source that Gardenburger is changing the formula of their Flame-Grilled Burger to no longer be gluten-free! Since they HAD the best gluten-free veggie burger on the market, I’m terribly disappointed, and have emailed them a protest letter to that effect. If you also don’t want to lose a gluten-free burger option- please take the time to contact the company by phone or email and tell them how much you care! I can’t believe that another of my favorite products is going the way of the Boca Burger. *sigh.* I’m so depressed.

Gardenburger Site
Gardenburger Customer Service: 1800 962 0120

*Note: It seems that in a horrible disregard for all of their loyal gluten-free customers, Gardenburger may be discontinuing the gluten-free status of ALL THREE of their gluten-free products, including black bean chipotle AND their breakfast veggie sausage. TIME FOR A BOYCOTT! (Yes, yes, i realize we have little choice in the matter, but we all have friends that CAN eat gluten- and might be in the market for a vegetarian burger. Tell them about how Gardenburger let you down!)*

Update: I have received an email from Gardenburger saying that only the Flame Grilled Burger is no longer gluten-free. However, on a gluten-free message board another member shared an email saying that all gluten-free burgers have been discontinued, and another member had the experience of calling the company and being told the same thing. Will verify as more information becomes available.

Looking for a substitute? Checkout this roundup I did of Gluten-Free Veggie Burger Options. The Gardenburger info is outdated, but I will adjust once I know the full story. Hope this helps!

Photo a teaser for some allergy-friendly recipes I’ll be posting soon… for NUT-FREE, DAIRY-FREE sundried tomato pesto (really!) among other yums.

This week the gluten-free menu swap is hosted by Faking it GF Style and the them is STRAWBERRIES, the perfect ingredient for Spring. And as always, I love posting my menus with Org Junkie.

Monday: low carb, low calorie
Spaghetti Squash “lasagna” with lowfat mozarella cheese and marinara

Tuesday: Mexican
Crunchy tacos with homemade guac, salsa, refried beans, and lettuce

Wednesday: European
Sweet Potato Knish and Potato Spinach Knish (frozen from last week)
Spinach salad

Thursday: Chinese
SLOW COOKER Sweet and Sour Tofu (adapted from “Not your Mother’s Slow Cooker Cookbook” pg. 289)
Green Veggie Stir Fry
Brown Rice

Friday: Irish
Vegetarian Pot Pie

This week I posted a review of the best dairy-free, gluten-free carrot cake Rice cream ever!
and
I posted my entry on Kate’s GF sandwich wrap bread for the “Adopt a gluten-free blogger event”

Soon to come:
Allergy friendly recipes for:
Olive-fresh herb flatbread (no dairy, soy, eggs, beans or nuts)
Pizza, courtesy of Carol Fenster
topped with Sundried tomato NUT FREE pesto, roasted tomatoes and grilled veggies (DF, EF, SF, BF, NF)
topped with Vegan Basil Pesto (DF, EF, SF, BF) and grilled veggies
No-Processed-Sugar, Soy-Free Gluten-Free, Dairy-free, and Nut-Free Agave Coconut Lemon Bar Recipe
Caponata Olive Recipe

Whew. I’m spent. I’ve been a busy girl, and will continue to be.. so I must run and study instead of posting a sauce recipe for you. Please leave encouraging comments so I have the energy for the crazy week ahead!

gluten-free sandwich wrap

I’ve enjoyed Kate’s blog since the first time I found it- but she really made me sit up and take note when she started posting recipes like this one for Homemade Egg Rolls. (Not this recipe though- it was way before that. I just couldn’t find earlier posts!) She’d posted some crazy cool things before that, but it was at that moment I knew I’d found a true blogging “kindred spirit.” Since then she’s posted some amazing recipes that all show her adventurous culinary “point of view” (Yes, I watched that Food Network food star show) and I’ve enjoyed going along for the ride with her. As always, though, I’ve tended to be more of a sightseer than a recipe tester… I just get so caught up in my cookbook collection! This is one of the reasons I started the “Adopt a Gluten-Free Blogger Event” - to give myself and others a much needed kick in the patootie to actually make the recipes we’ve admired on others’ blogs. So this month, when I had to pick a blogger, I knew I wanted to pick Kate’s blog. Then, of course, the hard part was picking just ONE recipe. I flirted with the idea of making Kate’s Cast Iron Skillet Pizza Recipe for a recent Celiac Bay Area potluck, but since I had limited time I decided against it. (Although next time, that pizza will be mine. Oh yes, it will be mine.) But I’ve been eying her post about the gluten-free sandwich wrap for a very long time now. (It was since July of 2007, actually. I did tell you I procrastinate these things…) I don’t know what pushed me over the edge, but somehow something snapped and I found myself in the kitchen, mixing up the sandwich wrap recipe, keeping in mind her follow up post on wrap experiments. I didn’t experiment with different flours, though. For one thing, I’m not all that crazy about sorghum, and for another, I am just about out of sorghum. Time for one of my annual flour-restocking online orders! So, I went with the traditional brown rice flour and tapioca starch. I did add some dried onion to spice it up a little, but I didn’t want to get too herbal with it. The last flatbread I made was a very well-seasoned olive-thyme-marjoram flatbread (yes, I will be posting the recipe), so this time I thought something classic and simple would be best. I spread the dough out on a jelly roll pan lined with parchment paper, and was reminded of making Bette Hagman’s excellent sponge cake recipe. I skipped the rising step along with Kate’s “experimental” model. I baked it at 425F for about fifteen minutes and found it rose in some places and looked thicker than a wrap- until I left it alone for 15 minutes after baking and it settled down (sank) like a good little wrap should. I sliced off the end, and made myself a sandwich with Toby’s oh-so-yummy tofu-egg salad (not vegan), fresh basil, and salt-seasoned sliced tomatoes. Truth be told, I wasn’t hungry just then, but needed the beautiful afternoon light to capture it for this post. No worries, though. DH and I had plans to go to a local coffeeshop to study, so I wrapped it up in saran wrap and put it in a handy little container and popped it in my backpack for my first-ever wrap-sandwich-to-go. The verdict? When I pulled the sandwich (or “sammie” as I’d rather call it, ’cause it was just so darned cute) and took a bite, I was one happy girl. Sometimes simple flours are your friend- and I’ve been friends with rice flour (brown OR white) and tapioca starch for a very long time. DH also stole a few bites and liked it. He would probably have eaten half of it, but I was a greedy girl and kept it for myself. Anyway, as I expected, Kate had shared yet another star recipe with her happy readers, who are just glad it made its way out of forum-dom to our happy viewing eyes (and into our happy mouths!) [Recipe was adapted by a forum member from GF 135 Recipes by Washburn]

But Kate doesn’t just post bread recipes, although there is a wealth of bread-type recipes on her site. She also hops around from yummy vegetable recipes (like this roasted artichoke recipe, to lentils (or Chickpeas), to pescatarian delights, (along with some things I don’t eat)… But I love the diversity of the recipes she shares and I can’t wait to make more of them… So I hope this post will inspire you to visit Kate’s blog and try some of her great recipes- and definitely, tell me about any of your favorites in the comments. Have you had YOUR gluten-free sandwich wrap today??

This Month’s Adopt-a Gluten-Free Blogger was hosted by Rachel at Wheat-Free Meat-Free, a blog very much after my own heart, obviously. Thank you, Rachel! If I remember correctly, we had another volunteer to host next month- please post in the comments to the post if you’d like to host the event next month or over the following months!

You know, I’m not sure what made me pick up that carton of rice-milk ice cream in my local Whole Foods that day. Generally my sweet tooth is a subdued little creature, given the occasional roar for chocolate. But, I had been avoiding dairy for a while and I got this pang for ice cream, so I decided to check out the new offerings. I was a little surprised to see, in addition to Turtle Mountain, Tofutti, Rice Dream and the like, a new kid in town- Good Karma and their “Organic Rice Divine.” I had actually used their whole-grain brown rice milk products before, found at the same Whole Foods. Interestingly, they have a brown-rice milk that is certainly more nutritious than most. I had no idea that they had their own ice cream, though. As I browsed the flavors of the rice cream, I noticed a clear “Gluten-Free” tag on their “Carrot Cake” flavor. Gluten-free, Dairy-Free Carrot Cake ice cream? No way! I read the label and found that the ice cream had chunks of rice flour-based carrot cake, and it actually sounded like a tasty carrot cake. Molasses, yummy spices- and carrot. Mmmm… how could I resist? Needless to say, that ice cream went home with me. One note for those with soy intolerance- it does contain (small) amounts of soy, despite being a rice cream. I have not been excessively impressed with most of the dairy-free ice creams I’ve tried. Most soy ice creams have a strong soy aftertaste and just seem to be trying too hard. I scooped out a small amount of this carrot cake ice cream and took a tentative nibble. It was like an amazing chai, mixed with carrot cake- a wonderful fusion concoction without any abrasive flavors. The ingredients harmonized together so well I didn’t miss the dairy at all, and in fact it just tasted RIGHT without any false notes or obvious gluten-free textures or flavors. I was in heaven. I’d never found an ice cream that matched my taste buds so well. I tested it out on the DH, whose verdict was “Mmm, good.” But I don’t think he fell in love the way I did. It reminded me of Grainnaisance’s much coveted winter seasonal Almond egg-less-nog beverage that i used to hunt down in Boulder, Colorado, but even better. I finished the small carton that week, no small accomplishment as ice cream or dairy-free creams usually sit in our freezer for months or longer, waiting for my sweet-tooth to assert itself. What’s more, the next time I went to Whole Foods, I bought another one, and even tried another flavor. I would give the carrot cake flavor a… well, a 10/10 as true dairy-free perfection. But how did the other flavors stack up? One thing I liked was that there was no chocolate in the carrot cake flavor. I like chocolate, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t always agree with me. But I wanted to try the chocolate flavors. Next, I tried the chocolate peanut butter fudge dairy-free ice cream. Honestly, who could resist chocolate and peanut butter together? Not me. I have to admit I was a little disappointed after the glory of the Carrot Cake flavor. The peanut chunks were really good, but the dark chocolate cookie crumbles (gluten-free! yay!) had the faintly flat note I associate with mediocre gluten-free baked products. The chocolate fudge swirls also didn’t cause my heart to beat faster, for some reason. I enjoyed it fairly well, but have to give it a 7/10 because the flavor of the cookie really detracted from the final product for me. Finally, in my last greedy trial, I succumbed to the allure of the banana fudge dairy-free ice cream. I happen to love frozen banana ice cream, which is odd because I hate fresh bananas. But when I was a child, one of my favorite treats was a real fruit banana ice cream bar that we found at a local health food store. This ice cream reminded me of those happy childhood memories and I thoroughly enjoyed the strong, natural banana flavoring. The chocolate fudge was nice, but it was almost superfluous. I would give this enjoyable ice cream an 8/10. I enjoyed it, but haven’t had more than that first serving since I bought it, so it doesn’t seem to engender cravings to the same degree as the delightful carrot cake flavor. It really is a shame for those who must avoid soy that these ice creams do contain some soy ingredients. But, if your primary issue is dairy and gluten, these ice creams are a wonderful alternative to dairy ice cream and allow us to indulge in real gourmet flavors that are normally off limits. One thing that I couldn’t detect was whether these products were actually vegan. I didn’t read any obvious references to eggs or other animal derived products in the ingredients, but if this is a concern you may want to contact the company. However, for this gluten-free vegetarian experimenting with being dairy-free, this was the perfect treat. For those with severe allergies, it is worth noting that the rice creams are produced in factories using milk, soy, tree nuts, and peanuts. The fact that the factory also makes milk products may be what stands between Rice Divine and the strictest vegan label, but I’m satisfied, and personally thrilled that a company made this effort at producing a truly high quality, gluten-free line of ice creams and milks for the dairy-free, gluten-free community.

If you’re interested in Gluten-Free, Dairy-free and Egg Free Ice Cream here’s a list of some of the major options:
Turtle Mountain lists allergens in a helpful allergen list to make it easier for you to find your egg-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free ice cream. (So Delicious etc.) Note that the PURE DELICIOUS Cookie Dough Ice Cream is, indeed GLUTEN-FREE!! I gotta get me some of that. *contains soy*

Tofutti has a wimpy gluten-free policy and doesn’t test their products (read their faq) but two snack bars, sour “cream,” their “better than cream cheese,” and their ice cream pints seem gluten-free. *contains soy*

Rice Dream has been a controversial product for some years now because the brown rice syrup they’ve used in their products has been derived from barley. I had heard that they had either undergone testing to demonstrate that there are no barley residues in the product or changed their formula, but this is unsubstantiated and I am by no means current on this. I’ve tended to avoid their products in the past. I did send them an email so we will see what response they have about the gluten-free status of their products. They do have this gluten-free list available. Oddly enough, it doesn’t include Almond Dream, despite its seemingly innocuous ingredients. One advantage of their company IF you can find truly gluten-free products from them is that they actually have entirely soy-free rice ice creams.

I hope those of you who must be dairy-free, egg-free and gluten-free find this a useful article highlighting our current options. If you’ve had experiences with any of these products, or have your own recipe for a killer gluten-free, vegan ice cream, please post in the comments! I’d love to hear from you. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I think I have some rice banana fudge ice cream calling my name…

Pictured: Grilled Ginger Sesame Tofu Recipe, Onigiri with a simple GF soy sauce drizzled avocado cube filling, and the sesame spinach recipe below. It was all absolutely delish!

This week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap is hosted by a relative newcomer to gluten-free blogging, Cooking Illustrated so I hope you’ll all go visit her blog and say hello. This week’s theme ingredient is the potato, one of my favorite things in the world! And as always, I enjoy posting my menu over at Org Junkie. But without further ado… here’s my menu for this week!

Monday: Italian, the boy cooks
DH’s mushroom risotto
Roasted Asparagus

Tuesday: Mexican, Fast
Vegetarian Nachos and/or Vegetarian Tacos

Wednesday: European, Fast
Potato and Sweet Potato Knishes

Thursday: Chinese
Szechuan Green Beans
Tofu Strips with sauce
Brown Rice

Friday: Korean
Spicy Vegetarian Rice Cake Kim Chi Soup
Rice

This week I was a busy girl, posting two lengthy articles- one
Review of Mariposa Gluten-Free Bakery in the Bay Area and
a special Gluten Free Raw Foods Company in the Bay Area with a roundup of gluten-free raw recipes.

(*if you’re not listed yet, now is a great time to join in by posting links to your GF raw recipe posts!*)

Please don’t forget to ADOPT A GLUTEN FREE BLOGGER over at Rachel’s Blog. There’s still time to participate! The deadline to post is MAY 11th, so get those posting, adopting fingers ready! I adopted the never Gobsmacked Kate at Gluten-Free Gobsmacked, of course!

And now for our Weekly Feature….
For this salad of the week I chose a traditional Japanese spinach dish that is somewhere between a salad and a tasty, cold vegetable side dish. DH has always been lukewarm about spinach at best, and the happiest thing about this Japanese recipe is that he actually liked it so much he gobbled it up and nibbled at leftovers, without even a comment about “yicky spinach.” He even said… shock… it was YUMMY. so there! The perfect recipe for spinach skeptics. I think it’s the magic of sesame.

It’s probably been obvious to you, my readers, that I’ve been carrying on something of a flirtation with raw foods. Oh, I haven’t actually made very many recipes in my own kitchen, but after my very pleasant experience at Berkley’s Cafe Gratitude I started to think that Raw Foods might have something special to offer the gluten-free diner. First, the majority of raw foods dishes are naturally gluten-free. Any time I hear that about any cuisine my ears perk up. (Yes, I was a cat in another life.) Second, most raw foods are also vegetarian. Yay! And third, raw foods cuisine uses a variety of cool ingredients (nuts, sprouts, gluten-free grains like buckwheat) in amazingly creative ways. What’s not to like about that? I bought a raw foods cookbook and started to daydream about dehydrators (no, I still haven’t bought one). Meanwhile it seemed like I was finding references to raw foods everywhere I went. But what is raw food?

Proponents of the raw foods movement have been vocal since the 1900’s, but there has been special interest in the Western United States recently, especially in California. This diet focuses on “living and raw foods [such as] fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts that are not heated above 118 degrees.” (Source: Wikipedia) Nuts and seeds are often sprouted to “remove the enzyme inhibitors naturally present in raw nuts, making their nutrients available to the body.” (Roxanne Company Page)

Many of my Gluten-free blogging peers, like the amazing Naomi of Better Batter, and Carrie of Ginger Lemon Girl, have been creating some gluten-free, raw foods masterpieces in their own kitchen.* Gluten-free, vegetarian inclined chefs and a cuisine that relied on fresh, naturally gluten-free ingredients seemed like a natural combination that went together like dates and walnuts. (Deliciously!)
*If you are one of these marvelous individuals, please comment and link to your fabulous raw recipes*

Just as I was all set to jump into exploring this new, natural cuisine- the new school term started and I found myself swamped with Chinese-inspired Japanese texts (kanbun), academic articles in Japanese, Modern Japanese history and Japanese Buddhism. Oops. Needless to say, I had no time whatsoever to start experimenting, especially with raw foods projects that require long-time soaking and planning ahead.

Luckily, on one of my rare days off I happened to go to Androncino’s Grocery and found, to my astonishment and delight, that they were having a sale on a locally available California product, Roxanne’s Raw Foods*. This wasn’t the first time I’d seen her products. Actually, they were prominently displayed at the Los Altos Whole Foods in a special refrigerator case for weeks prior, with a sign near the elevator advertising a new “gluten-free and raw-foods company.” But those products were priced just high enough that I couldn’t quite bring myself to purchase them, so I looked, briefly but longingly, and moved on. But here they were, priced on SALE, with a lovely variety right before my very eyes. Not only that, while I was looking, a very nice woman wandered up to the counter and started picking out some of her favorites. I asked her for her opinion on different types, because the variety was quite impressive, from breads, to fruit crumbles, to live “cookies”, and I was a bit lost about where to start first. As we were chatting, a man came up and said “Hey! We’re about to do samples of those soon!” and gave us each a coupon. How fortuitous, right? A gluten-free sample fest and coupons and a sale too- how often does THAT happen? I picked out a few products, checked out and then… guilty secret… came back in to see if they’d set up the sample booth. Yay! They had! Apparently Roxanne, the founder of the company, formerly had a successful raw-foods restaurant in Larkspur, California under the same name. She also collaborated with chef Charlie Trotter on a fancy raw-foods cookbook, entitled simply Raw.I found out that all of their products, with the exception of the ice cream was gluten free. The ice cream had barley malt, so they “weren’t sure yet.” Erm, yeah, that’s not gluten-free. Anyway. Ice cream??? I’d never thought about raw foods and ice cream, but I suppose the temperature is going the Other Way, down instead of up, so that makes sense… But, on to the samples.

I was very pleased to try both the Sweet and Spicy Cashews and the Triple Layer Chocolate Torte, neither of which I had bought. The former was very tasty, although in essence it was just a snack nut and less unique, to my mind, than other products. My “informant” at the counter had told me that she’d bought the Triple Layer Chocolate Torte and found it a bit too rich, but the mini bite I had as a sample was just right. I’m not sure I’d buy it, because I really am trying to cut back on chocolate, but it was good.

I enjoyed my samples, but I was really excited to go home and try the food I’d bought.

This beauty above is the Tu-nut Pinwheel Sandwich, a gluten-free raw-foods sandwich made with a variety of products also available separately.

Tu-nut Pinwheel Sandwich
The company blurb:
“Seems like a simple wrap sandwich, but really it represents one of Roxanne’s great raw innovations. Wrapped in her unique Sprotaâ„¢ Bread – a completely raw and living bread made from sprouted nuts and seeds – and wrapped around a delicious raw and vegan version of tuna salad, this light and satisfying sandwich is a great way to get your raw on the go.”
I like being able to get a gluten-free “Sandwich” to go, definitely. It’s also a good way to try several of her products at once, like the Sprota bread, tu-nut salad, and nutmilk cheese, although it’s a little difficult to taste the nutmilk cheese as distinct from the other ingredients. I thought the bread was interesting, and tasty, although it IS a raw bread so you can’t go into the experience expecting it to be like a baked bread or wrap. However, for me the winners were the tu-nut salad, which tastes miraculously tuna-nutty without any actual fishies involved, and the nutmilk cheese that adds creaminess to the mix. I love the combination though, and my secret addition of an avocado slice made this the perfect snack. I found that half of the sandwich satisfied for a while, so I could eat half, put the rest in the fridge, and have it later. I will purchase this again, and in fact, did, just the other day. Alas, due to the high quality and expensive ingredients, it’s pricey, so a luxury. alas. 8/10

Tu-nutâ„¢ Salad: I’ve essentially reviewed this above, but I like the texture and the flavor is spot on without being overwhelmingly “fishy.” Remember, this is a vegan, vegetarian product. It satisfies my urge for tuna salad, cruelty-free, and I love that. 9/10 I would love to buy this again, even on regular GF bread. Mmmm.

Nutmilk Cheezeâ„¢, Garlic Onion
The company blurb:
“As creamy and sumptuous as the original, with the sharp tang of garlic and onion. Great as a vegetable dip or spread on Roxanne’s Snap Crackers.” This is the “Seasoned” version of the cheeze on the pinwheel sandwich, and has delightful fresh chive bits on top. I have a weakness for these creative raw “cheezes” and this one was super yummy. It’s a lot of cheeze, though, unless you have a specific plan. I think if I were to buy it again, I’d plan it around a whole raw menu- maybe have a raw zucchini lasagna or something. Or, I could be totally fusion and try it with *gasp* cooked pasta and greens. If I remember correctly, I used part of mine on a baked Chebe pizza with veggies and thoroughly enjoyed it. A million times better than most cheese subs, but you have to be in the raw foods mindset and think of it more as dip or sauce than CHEESE.9/10

Apple Crisp
Apples, dates, blueberries and pecans are all components of this pleasant crisp.It also contains a vanilla parfait with coconut, although to be honest, I couldn’t really taste that part all that much- the apples rule the roost in this recipe. It’s a nice treat, and one I shared with my DH, but it felt more like something I could make myself. (Although I think it may be more complex than I realized at the time.) And you all know I’m a savory girl at heart anyway. I probably wouldn’t buy it again- but for those dedicated to the raw lifestyle and craving sweets, it is lovely.7/10

So this was my first experience with Roxanne’s Raw Foods. I think that Roxanne has a lot to offer, both to Raw Foodies, and to us gluten-free folks with a taste for vegetarian dining. I have a coupon or two left that I’m hoarding for sandwiches, so I’m really happy about that. But, I have to admit, I’m a little worried. Food prices are skyrocketing and niche markets are going to be hurt by that. The prices of the products at Whole Foods were high enough that even I hesitated- and I am a noted impulse buyer. Having blogs helps with that. I can always say, “Oh, but it’s for the blog,” as if the blog itself has gourmet tastes and needs feeding. But as my friendly informant at Androncino said “Gosh, it’s so nice that they are on sale. I wish they’d always be this price- I’d buy them all the time!” I’d love to make raw foods, and Roxanne’s Raw Foods in particular, a regular part of my diet instead of an occasional splurge. But, at their current price, I don’t know that I can, or even that I should. I noticed the other day at Whole Foods that they have reduced Roxanne’s shelf space to about half the volume. I really hope this reduction of shelf space isn’t permanent, and that it doesn’t indicate that the goods are being phased out. But I do wonder about the future. This has been the year of “gluten-free” as the new dietary miracle. More and more companies have begun catering to us gluten-free folks and to those interested in alternative, gluten-free living. But as customers struggle over the high price of basics like milk (of all kinds) and even produce, how can luxury goods continue to be supported by a struggling market? I’m really concerned that we’ll see many bright stars, like Roxanne’s, be snuffed out by rising costs. So… in the interest of supporting this company, and others that can and do make our gluten-free life so much more interesting, I hope that you will at least consider trying her products- or, if raw foods is not your thing, support local gluten-free companies that do make your heart sing. These are tough times, for everyone…

PS I sent Roxanne’s a message telling her about an upcoming meeting of Celiac Bay Area on May 9th, hoping she might be interested in sending some literature or even doing samples for us. Haven’t heard back yet, sniff…

Can’t buy Roxanne’s in your Area? How about making Gluten-Free Raw Foods in your own Kitchen?

Here’s one of my experiments:
A Pine nut Un-cheese recipe inspired by Raw foods (yes, I broke the rules and heated it, but you don’t have to.)

But Naomi is the real mistress of raw cuisine. Try her:
Raw Fried Rice Cauliflower Recipe
Raw Vegan Caesar Salad with Macademia Nut Cream
Raw un-meaty marinara with spaghetti squash
Raw Mock Fish Stick Recipe

And at Ginger Lemon Girl we also saw a recent recipe for
Chocolate Raw Brownie Bites

Hope these recipes will inspire you! Please post any comments or reviews you have for Roxanne’s Raw Foods Products to share with my readers, and I’d also love to hear about your favorite RAW recipes. Non-commercial links welcome!

Mariposa Gluten-Free Bakery
5427 Telegraph Ave, Unit D3
Oakland, CA 94609
tel: 510.595.0955
fax: 510.595.0966
info@mariposabaking.com

Monday - Wednesday 8am - 4pm
Thursday - Friday 8am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
*starting May 18 Sunday: 10am-4pm* (Updated)
(Until May 18 Mariposa will be CLOSED Sunday)

Mariposa Menu (prices current in March, 2008)
A Slice of the Vegetarian Pizza of the Day- 1 slice $3.75 (12-3 pm daily)
10″ frozen pizza crust $4.50
10″ frozen topped veggie pizza
10″ frozen cheese pizza $10
10″ hot topped pizza $14

Toasted bagel with cream cheese $2.25
Toasted bagel and butter $2
Toasted bagel and jam $2.25

I first heard about the Mariposa bakeshop a little over a year ago when they opened a cafe location in Oakland, California to serve freshly baked goods to accompany the fresh baked biscotti and brownies they had been selling nation-wide. I blogged about my first visit in june and reviewed their offerings at the time, but they promised to expand their menu, and I was thrilled to hear this Spring that they had added pizza and bagels to the menu. DH and I decided to go on a local gluten-free adventure and drove down to check it out.

This visit, I was thrilled to find that not only did they have a delicious vegetarian pizza available daily, but that they had fresh baked bagels and sugar cookies in addition to muffins, lemon bars, and their killer brownies. The prices were generally reasonable, although given the price of food lately, I wouldn’t be surprised to see some price increases in the future. They offered a variety of muffins, brownies, bread, and coffee cake. The muffins were $1.50 and the bagels were $1.25, and the cookies were a dollar each, and I couldn’t resist getting some to take home. The star of the show, though, was the amazing pizza. The crust managed to be crunchy and bread-y at the same time, and I loved the toppings. The daily special had a spinach, zucchini, onion, and roasted potato with mozzarella cheese topping. The roasted potato added surprising sweetness, and the zucchini was refreshing- and to think, I used to think I didn’t like zucchini! This was no overcooked, mushy, watery zucchini- this was zucchini in its best manifestation- roasted to sweet, fresh flavor and marrying perfectly with the green spinach and caramelized onions. Most gluten free pizzas underwhelm, either because of their toppings or a mediocre crust- but this pizza was wonderful on all counts. If you’re worried about the cheese, never fear. If you call ahead of time, they will make you a dairy free pizza! I think they use a soy cheese, but I’m not sure- you’d have to verify that with the owner.

Being me I couldn’t just have a slice of pizza (although that was really the reason we came all the way from Mountain View!), but had to order a toasted bagel with cream cheese. Honestly, can you imagine how cool it was, after years of ignoring bagels in shops like they were laced with rat poison, to actually order my own, safe, delicious-looking gluten-free bagel in a cafe? It was cool. The bagel didn’t disappoint, either, with a glossy exterior studded with poppy seeds and a bready interior that was satisfyingly dense without venturing into gluten-free hockey puck territory. The cream cheese was just as creamy and cheesy as it should be, and I thoroughly enjoyed my delicious little snack. The sweet butterfly-shaped gluten-free sugar cookie we had for dessert just topped off the meal. I actually only barely managed to score myself a cookie- as we were waiting for our pizza, a loyal customer came in and was about to buy ALL Of the cookies. I managed to wheedle him out of one cookie. There was no cookie auctioning involved, happily. I just mentioned to the nice man that I had been going to buy one and he said to go ahead. Yay! Let’s hear it for nice fellow gluten-free folk! And in case you’re wondering how many stomachs I have… the answer is TWO. DH and I shared everything, although I greedily ordered the whole rest of the veggie gluten-free pizza to take home. It was that good. And, since I was so impressed with the crust, I picked one up to take home. You can see my haul that I took home at the bottom of this post.

I also found that Mariposa (now?) offers gluten-free cakes made to order by Kapcakes, so they are the perfect place to order a gluten-free cake for any birthdays coming up! According to their April newsletter, “for Passover this year we offer[ed] Torta Regina cakes. Fragranced with cirtus zest, these 8″ cakes are a wonderful blend of chocolate, almonds and hazelnuts. Made by Hanna at Kapcakes, the Torta Regina is suitable for Passover as well as gluten-free and dairy-free with no added fats or oils. Yum! Also from Kapcakes, we offer[ed] a variety of cookies, including nut macaroons, which are also suitable for Passover.” It seems like a wonderful collaboration that will benefit everybody involved, including their happy customers!

Altogether, we had a great experience over at Mariposa Bakery in Oakland. There are so many fun things to do in the area it’s a great place to make a day trip, but of course, the gluten-free bakery was the highlight of our trip! Here’s my entirely subjective review of the products I sampled. I was going to give numbers like I usually do, but it got too hard, so I’m listing them in order of preference with descriptive awards. Hope it helps when you’re deciding how many dozens to order!

Vegetarian Gluten-Free Pizza- Almost perfection! I suppose there COULD be a better pizza, but I haven’t had it yet, and that’s saying a lot after 28 years of living gluten-free! And the fact that it is made in an entirely gluten-free environment… PRICELESS.
Gluten-Free Lemon Bars- Addictive DF Heaven in bar form!I love, love, love these lemon bars. Chocolate doesn’t always agree with me, and I’m not always sure about dairy, and I can’t BELIEVE there is no dairy in these puppies. They are sooo sweet (sometimes half of one is plenty) and so… coconutty… and soooo good. I put them in the freezer when I stock up (last time they were 3/$5) and they vanish embarrassingly quickly.
Gluten-free Brownies- An awesome Death by Chocolate! I’ve raved about these brownies before as the perfect, fudgy brownie, just like I like ‘em. I have one in my freezer right now… hmmm…. They have the added bonus of being sold in some Bay area stores like Whole Foods. They have some markup, but are worth it. Love this treat in all its permutations.
Gluten-Free Bagels- best of the savory breads, after the pizza crust! (You got the gist above, I assume.) Love them!
Gluten-Free Coffeecake, Pumpkin Muffins- Tasty Treat! Let me just say I’m not a huge coffee cake person. But, both the coffee cake and muffins were good and I love that they offer it.
Gluten-Free Sugar Cookies- Lovely for the novelty! The best part? Not having to roll out the dough and make them myself. I do have my own favorite recipes, so I’m not sure I’d buy them again. They were fun, although slightly dry.
Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies- Good and dairy-free! I love being able to buy them and they are worlds better than processed GF cookies like Ians. (I won’t eat Ians, for the record, but I did enjoy this cookie.) But, both DH and I thought they tasted a little “gluten-free” and have our own favorite recipe at home. However, Mr. Cookie buying man bought them all up, so they definitely have their fans! And, they are dairy free as well, which is definitely a plus.
Gluten-Free Bread - Better than many processed breads. This is always unfair, because I make some gluten-free breads that I love and I’ve tried many great recipes. This bread was good, but a little “gluten-free.” Not my favorite of their products. But so handy to be able to buy it, yes? Love that!

Can I just say that after crushing disappointment at other facilities (like, say, Sunny Valley Wheat Free in Seattle that didn’t serve pizza on the weekends, or at Da Vinci where they didn’t have any vegetarian pizza that day) it was such a joy to be able to order a delicious vegetarian pizza that was… dare I say it and leave my ego intact… better than I can make at home. If I could go every week, I would. It’s just a darned shame we live such an inconvenient drive away. So please, I beg you, let’s help support this wonderful gluten-free company that just keeps getting better and better! If you live in the area, you absolutely MUST run, not walk, to try this gluten-free pizza of legends that I personally think is the BEST GLUTEN-FREE PIZZA IN THE BAY. ,In fact, consider it your mission, as of now, to try it and then come back over to the Book of Yum and tell me all about it in the comments! I’d love to hear about your favorite gluten-free products at Mariposa, or about your experience in general.

*Oh, by the way, I have no connection to this business or its owner. I just like her product! There were no shady deals involving envelopes under apartment doors or anything like that, although that sounds highly entertaining. Maybe next time I’ll pretend there was one so I can “tell you” about it. haha*

Another beauty shot...

Check out a photo from Joe’s recent visit, taken the day after I posted. (Yay!)

A colorful spring snack- purple potatoes with fresh organic red tomatoes sprinkled with salt, pepper and drizzled in lime juice. Sometimes it’s easy to eat gorgeous (and delicious) food…

Asparagus Thin is hosting this week’s Gluten Free Menu Swap, with a theme ingredient of… PEAS! Yum yum. I’ll be stir frying some up later this week. And of course, you can always count on great menu plans over at Org Junkie’s Menu Plan Monday.

Wednesday: Italian
Artichoke heart pasta with nut “cheese” topping
tomato cucumber salad

Thursday: Asian Fusion
Sesame tofu steaks
Ginger Sesame Onigiri Rice Balls
Asian Greens

Saturday: American
Baked Bean Soup
Polenta
Roasted Broccoli

Sunday: Chinese
Szechuan Salted Green Pea stir fry
Rice

Instead of a dressing of the week, we have an, um, CHOCOLATE sauce/dressing with our
Daring Baker Dairy Free Cheesecake Pop recipe posted today. Enjoy!

This week I also posted a great recipe for Vegetarian Japanese Yakisoba (I know, modesty, modesty… but I can’t help it. It was sooo good!)

I joined the Daring Bakers last month for the first time, and made a delightful Vegan Party Cake- dairy and egg free. As you know, I’m more of a savory girl than a sweet, but it was refreshing to make something fun and outside my usual repertoire, and DH and I enjoyed the results of my “daring baking.” I was looking forward to next month, and then when I found out the recipe was for cheesecake pops first I thought “WOW!” and next, “uh oh, now what.” Because, you see, I’ve been trying to eat dairy free lately, and how can you have dairy free cheesecake? On the up-side, it is delightfully easy to make this recipe gluten-free, as the flour plays a very minor role in the whole endeavor. I kept putting off making my recipe until, as the clock kept ticking away, and the calendar started to haunt me, I suddenly remembered my Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese in the refrigerator. Aha! I thought. And lest you wonder why it took me so long to think of it- let’s just say, there are many things lurking in my fridge, and it’s scary enough in there that it wasn’t the first staple I’ve forgotten about. Anyway, tofutti cream cheese found, I decided to use it as the base of my cheesecake. But another thing was worrying me. This recipe was HUGE, making enough cheesecake pops for an army of baby shower, wedding shower, or birthday party attendees. Over at our house, it’s just me and DH, and unless I’m going to start Ra and Neko on a cheesecake diet (yes, i know that dairy is super-bad for kitties, and chocolate even worse) we were going to be responsible for consuming those little sticks of loveliness. Luckily Eat Me Delicious posted on the brand new Daring Bakers Forum about how she had cut down the recipe to a fifth of the original size and had it turn out. I was thrilled, because I only had 1/5 of the required amount of cream cheese and honestly, a fifth is all we could really consume in any reasonable amount of time. Unless of course I want to buy a whole new (larger) wardrobe to accommodate my cheesecake chomping ways. In my exploration of the web, I also stumbled across a wonderful vegan site Novel Eats with lots of great cheesecake recipes, including a Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Recipe to die for. If I’d seen her page sooner I would probably have gone vegan with this recipe, but I didn’t and so I just made it dairy-free. Anyway, gotta love the creativity of my fellow daring bakers! I have been really busy, and made this recipe as a last minute thing. I was feeling stressed about it, actually, but halfway through the process, as I was taking my cheesecake out of the ramikins and cutting them into hearts and filling half with strawberry jam- I realized that I was having a really good time. I would never have been inspired to make this recipe on my own, but once I actually did it, I felt the satisfaction of doing something different and interesting. I know, I know, I’m walking on the wild side here in the grad student kingdom. But this challenge really did make me feel like a Daring Baker, and so I’d like to extend my thanks to Deborah from Taste and Tell and Elle from Feed My Enthusiasm for picking this fun, playful recipe. And once again, I can’t wait for next month to see the new challenge for us DARING BAKERS.

PS Today I found out unexpectedly that tomorrow is one of my best friend’s birthdays. It just so happens that cheesecake is her favorite dessert AND she is lactose intolerant (A cruel combination, to be sure) and so today as soon as I finished these puppies I presented her with her own “frozen birthday cake.” It worked well AND saved DH and I from pigging out on all eight. haha.

How to Make Dairy Free Cheesecake Pops: