That’s what my paternal grandmother would always call little gifts she would give my sister and I, often on the other’s birthday. She had a knack for downplaying any of her own acts, perhaps she knew if she didn’t they would overwhelm people with the consistency of kindness and thoughtfulness, b/c her ‘little nothings’ were in fact always quite something~ an ode to elegance, a study in grace, and the equivalent of a quiet smile and wink in a world of garishness and self-obsession. She did not live to see the internet explosion and I sometimes wonder what someone like her would think of the fb pages filled with “look at me”, and the comments that fill the space under just about any article on any website. Here’s a tip, if you want to like humanity, never read comments on newspaper sites~ it is so depressing. But honestly I think she’d laugh at it all because underneathe her composer she had a ready sense of humor that never missed a beat, and with four kids of her own, that certainly served her well. I find myself saying “a little nothing” these days and it is my own private smile that I enjoy, though people are probably left wondering if they misheard me. Today the phrase rang through my head when I woke up early and in the rare quiet decided to share just that; nothing much at all. Lately I’ve been trying to eat up what is in the freezer and refrigerator b/c we are headed out of town and the rotten machine makes a horrible sick-mechanical-cow kind of noise which means “defrost me” so my husband plans to do that while we are gone. In that effort I have found two packs of corn tortillas and over half a loaf of udi’s bread in the freezer which have made up quite a few of my meals lately. I either toast the bread or warm up the tortillas on the stovetop (after defrosting) and on both I add hummus, spinach, sliced cucumbers, green onions and garlic sauce. It is ridiculously simple but delicious, especially on the tortillas. So that’s my little nothing of the day, and I hope it means something to someone.

Some days are just mac n’ cheese kind of days. It happens about twice a year that I get a hankering for the stuff and absolutely nothing else will do. And it has to be the box kind~ no fancy cookery or anything like that, even though I’ve seen some pretty tempting recipes out there on the web. Today was one of those days~ maybe it was the crazy winds blowing through, maybe it was the May Day violence happening across the 520, or maybe (and most likely) it was the fact I helped 21 kindergartners paint this morning~ when I got home for lunch it was either a tall glass of red or a box of Annie’s. Luckily for my liver, I had a box in the way back corner of my pantry so I was able to indulge. It tasted excellent~ it’s been a long decade or so since I have had ‘regular’ mac n’ cheese, but I’m pretty sure this rice pasta version will help any child (or adult) transitioning to gluten free get over at least pining away for Kraft. That’s a great way to transition, by the way~ fill those cravings with the good gluten free alternatives out there. Pizza, pasta, cake~ you can find it all now which is so nice for kids especially. You can worry about making the healthiest choices later, after the whole shock of the diagnosis wears off. Because it will. In the beginning, again especially for children, the best thing to do is to not feel deprived, or different. I’m now really surprised when people say to me, “Oh it must be hard, or terrible, or earth shattering to avoid wheat!” It’s really not hard, or bad at all. To be honest, it bummed me out at first, and even now I’ll get an odd pang for something~ usually it’s visual like a movie where there is lonely, dirty guy in a dank French prison who gets handed a hunk of bread and I’ll think, “Oooo, that looks good!” But then I’ll make myself a batch of scones and think, “this is much better than being locked in an underground Medieval prison any old day.” Really, it gets easier, food tastes better, and once you feel good you never want to feel sick ever again.

I once lamented here that my oldest has an apron while I did not even own one myself, but that changed this past Christmas when my sweet husband bought me two. Most people quietly cringe and back away when I tell them I got aprons for Christmas, but they are exactly what I wanted. Now my oldest and I can both suit up before attacking some project in the kitchen. Today has been one of those days where I’ve been in the kitchen so much that I actually still have my pajama bottoms on (cleverly hidden by said apron.) I’ve prepared sweet potatoes, still baking in the oven for a later date, white bean salad with hearts of palm, and gluten free focaccia. To made it I roughly followed Annalise Roberts’ Gluten Free Baking Classics’ recipe for rustic flat bread, but instead of the flour mix she uses, I substituted the following: 1C gf oat flour (Bob’s) 1/4 C cornstarch and 1/4C tapioca flour.

Do those look like sun dried tomatoes on top? Why yes, they are! Plus Mediterranean sea salt, onions, garlic, oregano, and herbs Provence. (We are, sadly, out of basil. Too much Italian food talk lately.) I love the combination of this focaccia with the white bean salad. Besides tasting great together, it just seems more spring-ish to be eating salad than soup for a change. Speaking of great combinations, this wine is my hands down all time favorite:

Favorite Special Occasion Wine

Favorite Everyday Wine

It is also quite expensive~ I can’t remember if it was a gift or bought for some sort of celebration, but it is worth it for special occasions. I even adore the label. Thus far in my not very wine-wise life I’ve found that shopping for wine by the beauty of the label has worked out quite well. I could frame that one there on the right. The wine we normally drink for not so special occasions was also bought (by my husband) for it’s label. It is around $10.99/bottle but is really smooth and delicious. I’d say things about it’s tawny note and blackberry undertones but I would have NO idea what I’m talking about it, so I’ll just say it is yummy. You can figure out why yourself. I think I’ll make some more scones while I still have this apron on and before anyone stops by and sees my pjs at 1:30 in the afternoon.

We ❤ Saturdays.

Well, at least they are new to me. I happened to be looking for some fresh Parmesan in the cold case at Whole Foods and the tags signifying gluten free caught my eye a shelf or two above the cheeses. The tags were under fresh pasta~ this was first I’ve seen of that! The name of the company is Maninis and the pasta looks delicious. I was tempted to buy the lasagna sheets but since I didn’t have a recipe already in my hands I was sure I would forget some of the other ingredients. Next shopping trip though, I’ll get some. Then I saw the same company has flour mixes in the baking aisle. It looks like their mixes are full of ancient grains, instead of the more common ‘white’ grains and starches found in most other gluten free baking mixes. I can’t wait to try them! Maninis is based in Seattle, and I’m so not surprised. I wonder how it is in other parts of the country because gluten free eating is getting so easy and tasty here that I’m starting to feel a tad guilty! No worries, I’ll get over it. I did a bit of research last night on eating gluten free in Portland Oregon because we’ll be headed there soon for a night and they seem to be extremely gluten free friendly too. So, I guess the lesson is, if you are gluten intolerant the Pacific Northwest is a great place to visit (if not live).
There was another treat there this morning~ artichokes are a mere $1.50 a piece. My oldest loves artichokes and asks for them year round so I’m always looking for a decent price, and today’s is very reasonable. The only problem is he will want more and more once he has one. Is it artichoke season? I thought that was more a summer thing? Hm~.

OK, so I’m not really having a party, but it is my birthday and that song keeps running through my head as I disinfect the house. My oldest son came home from school yesterday perfectly fine, then a couple of hours later he was throwing up in the driveway, on the sidewalk, and finally in the bathroom where he spent the entire rest of the evening in his faux leather ‘library’ chair with a book and a movie. He managed to sleep most of the night with only a few close encounters with the appointed puke-bowl, but he is home today just in case it returns. So, my birthday plans, minimal though they were, have changed and I’m now cleaning the house of potential germs all day, although  really I’m not convinced that it was indeed a sickness and not a food-poisoning issue. Whatever the cause I’m very glad he is feeling better and seems to be on the mend. On a happier note, at PCC the other day Udi’s cinnamon rolls were on sale so I looked at their stats for the first time and they actually aren’t that bad. Less calories and fat than the Udi’s muffins~ I always check this out b/c gluten free items are often loaded to bursting with fat and sugar in an attempt to hide the fact there is no wheat in the product. Even a piece of bread can make up half your daily caloric needs, so it is wise to be aware of what is going in your body and not just eat anything labeled gluten-free as if it were a health food. So anyway, I was pleasantly surprised with the cinnamon roll stats and tried the rolls on my kids a few days ago. They liked them~ my oldest liked them a lot, and my younger one who wishes there were only one food group in life, sugar, loved the icing that came with the rolls and liked the roll itself just a little. That really doesn’t mean anything though b/c you could give him the most delicious cake in the world and he’d eat the icing and leave the rest. I tried what was left of his roll and it was good! Really good. The icing comes in separate packets so you can put as little or as much on as you want, which is a nice touch. Back to cleaning…

I am constantly amazed at all the choices we gluten free gourmands have these days. If you have been eating gluten free for more than a couple of years, you know that the products have quadrupled in both quantity and quality (thank goodness). Not only that, but at most restaurants the servers will happily inform you what is gluten free and what is not, or find out from someone who does know. I still get blank stares occasionally, or even worse, fake smiles that tell me this person doesn’t know and doesn’t care, but not in Redmond, where I feel very lucky to live. Redmond has both a huge Whole Foods, and PCC, both with large gluten free selections, (I find Whole Foods’ section especially easy to navigate. I actually go to the PCC in Kirkland so I can’t speak to the one in Redmond very well, but I know it is there!) Besides the grocery selection at Whole Foods, you can also order a pizza made on gluten free crust, or a sandwich made on gluten free bread. They do say that they cannot officially guarantee them gluten free pizzas/sandwiches b/c they are made right where gluten products are made, but they are using gluten free ingredients. They also have a bakery where you can order a gluten free cake or whatnot if you do not see something already to your liking. Speaking of bakeries, the Flying Apron is just down the road from Whole Foods and it does indeed have a gluten free bakery. Not only is it gluten free, it is vegan so those with dairy and egg issues can rest easy. They have lunch items, loaves of specialty breads, baked goods by the dozens, and great coffee, all in an open cafe atmosphere with art on the walls and thick wooden tables to share a morning with your best allergy-laden friends. I’ve done it many times. This really is a place not to be missed while in Redmond. You’ll temporarily think you are on a European side street, or at least in Fremont where the first bakery/cafe still stands and operates. If that weren’t enough to get you out of your house on a rainy day, there is another restaurant dedicated to allergy free eating that recently opened called Graces 5. It has lunch and dinner every day of the week and looks like the kind of place anyone would enjoy, food-allergy-challenged or not. I haven’t been there yet, but it looks amazing with raw dishes, low sugar promises, and all of it gluten and dairy free. They serve meat too, so I might actually convince my husband and kids to join me~ bonus! Another gluten free place to check out is Taste of Amazing, a catering shop which also has premade meals and groceries to buy for walk-ins. It was formerly called Savory Moments and is behind the Sammamish Hot Yoga place and Pomengranate. In other words, it isn’t easy to find, but it is really quite worth it. They have many frozen and refrigerated meals, gluten free and not, which are all made right there. I went there today and bought stuffed artichoke bottoms, but they have a huge variety~ soups, quiche, lasanga, veggie sides, Indian foods, etc. The grocery selection is small, but if you are on your way home from work and need a quick meal (chef made) and a snack for the kids tomorrow, this is a great place to go. Besides all these great dedicated places, there are plenty of pizza places that now make gluten free crusts. To name a few: Frankie’s, Garlic Jim’s,  Tony Maroni’s, and Romio’s. No one ever has to go without pizza delivery (how civilized). No one in Redmond anyway. If I am forgetting anyone, let me know. And please let these places know you appreciate their gluten free inclusions, it’ll keep those choices burgeoning as they have been, and keep us out of the allergy-dark-ages for good.

You know you live with a second grade boy when that Batman rendition of Jingle Bells has been stuck in your head for weeks. I miss the days when the boys liked actual carols, but I guess I should count myself lucky that they still believe in the whole Santa thing. Even though it is the holidays, I’ve not caught the cooking spirit. In fact, my urge to bake seems to have a direct negative correlation with traditional holiday baking. For weeks I’ve meant to bake up a storm, but somehow there is always something else to do first. Finally I made some sugar cookies today, not gluten free, just regular ones that my boys were going to decorate for their cousins who visited today, but something just wasn’t right. Maybe I’ve lost the touch with wheat since my baking is usually dedicated to gluten free goodies…? But my cousin-in-law said she made a bad batch of doughnuts this morning, so maybe it is something in the air~ humidity? Rain? Holiday pressure? Whatever it is it did not effect the gf minestrone I made yesterday which is delicious. It is the same basic recipe as before, but here it is again: in olive oil saute a good size yellow onion (chopped) then add (all chopped into small pieces) a big leek or two smaller ones, about 3 celery sticks, 3-4 carrots (pealed), and broccoli. Add 3-4 garlic heads pressed through a garlic press, a bit of balsamic vinegar, ground pepper to taste, seasoning salt and herbs (at least basil and oregano and whatever else sounds good. I like thyme.) Then add 4 cups of broth (I use a vegan bouillon with sea salt and herbs) and a can of tomato sauce. You can also use a can of diced tomatoes. Add 2 cans of cannellini beans (rinsed) and then pasta (I like either brown rice spirals or quinoa/corn pasta) that has been pre-made. We like a chunky soup here in this house. If you like one with more liquid in it, then halve the ingredients because this is a very full to the brim chunky soup. Delicious though, especially with a bit of parm on top. I think both Santa and Batman would approve, smelly or not.