a bit of local love... Ouray Brewery

A brewery? What- that can't be right why would a place that is based on beer be a safe place for a glutard? It's true, the Ouray Brewery in Ouray, Colorado was a great meal for me. Dave and I left Telluride's box canyon and headed to Ouray for a day at the hot springs. We grabbed lunch at the Ouray Brewery as we had reccently seen an ad that mentioned their gluten free friendly menu.

I had  Mushrooms and Herbed Quinoa and I wish that the quinoa I make at home would come out this good. It's nutty flavor paired well with the fresh herbs and the mushrooms au poivre.

They also served bottled gluten free beer, Green's which is just over a pint. It's hard for me to finish while it's still cold but it's such a great feeling to sit in a brew pub and enjoy a meal and a beer. Speaking of... the barstools were actually swings. They came from a scenic lift in Utah and made for a novel experience.

Dave was pretty excited and even got a growler of gluten beer to enjoy later at home.

rockin' Udi's and New Planet with a bit of Telluride style

It hasn't been nearly as snowy as I'd like this winter and lately my minds been wandering to other endeavors beyond skiing. Last weekend we loaded the dogs, friends and gear in the 4Runner and headed a mere 30 minute drive away to a whole different climate without snow and hit the wall. It's a nice drive and as soon as the car hits the dirt road the dogs know- we're going to go have fun. This day will be good for them. A few more miles and a couple of big turns later we park and throw packs on all of us, dogs included and go for a short steep hike to the wall in Clay Creek that was named after Austin Powers.

mayhem

 I had a few good climbs until my office bound paws screamed at me and then a nice hike/scramble with the golden boys while the human boys climbed more. The ending of our outing was perfection.... Udi's Bagel for a post climbing lunch and a New Planet Off Grid to celebrate our early induction to spring.  

chaos considers knocking over my new planet for himself...

 This weekend winter is back and a fresh blanket of snow covers Telluride and our wall. Thankfully Udi's and New Planet still complement skiing as well as they do climbing.

We didn't have our post climbing libations on ice so my first taste of Off Grid wasn't the best. I haven't had time this week to stage a tasting off between my beloved Tread Lightly and Off Grid. My first impression was that I was drinking Anadama bread. Anadama is a bread made with cornmeal and molasses which I loved in my gluten days. I've got a recipe to try a GF version but I've been scared to test it out at 9,000 feet. Perhaps in the next few weeks as we sink into a quieter season here in Telluride...

a bit of local love... The Llama

The Llama has become a Telluride nightlife hotspot this winter and is also a great apres scene. This winter they have two for one margs from 3-6pm and $2.50 soft corn tacos with a few filling options- all of which are GF. I'm not sure what they do to their corn tacos but they were warm and soft and didn't mush up and fall apart as I enjoyed them. We ended up there twice last weekend and enjoyed the taco scene while having some much needed and overdue time catching up with friends.

From Droid think outside

a bit of local love... La Cocina de Luz now serves New Planet

La Cocina de Luz translates to the kitchen of light and has been in Telluride serving up local, organic and wholesome food for over a dozen years. It's a great spot for glutards and has just become a bit better... they now serve New Planet Beer. We tend to go when we're in town and in need of a quick bite and it's popular with both visitor's and locals. It's one of the few places in town that doesn't take a break between the busy summer tourism season and the winter snow riders since it's so popular with the local crew.

Today's fare was enchilada's with garlic roasted veggies and green Spanish rice, OK this was actually Dave's plate. I just went for one chicken enchilada with rice, I am a terrible veggie eater. There- now you know- in case it wasn't obvious from my obsession with all things deserts (whoopie pies).  La Cocina is right on Colorado Avenue which is Telluride's Main Street and has quick counter service and all the makings of a solid Mexican joint with good margaritas with fresh lime juice and all.

Gluten Free Beers in Telluride

Although I live in a small town I was very fortunate to have some local stores carry Gluten Free Beers. I've had good luck finding Redbridge, Green's and New Grist. I was elated to find not one but two new flavors to sample Bard's and New Planet. Dave texted me this photo and I was blown away, so much shelf space for glutarded beers!

From think outside the breadbox

New Planet is brewed here in Colorado so I was hoping it would make it from Boulder down to the southwest corner of the state. It's only recently hit shelves anywhere so I was even more shocked to see it here in town. Bard's isn't new but I've only had it once before and my local stores hadn't been able to get it for a while. Colorado only sells 3.2% beer in supermarkets so liquor stores are the way to go here and thankfully there are some good options Telluride. Lately Redbridge has been out of stock and it seems like there may be a distributor issue- has this happened to anyone else?

To be fair I pulled out some Telluride Blues and Brews (Gluten Filled Beer Festival) tasting glasses and enlisted Dave's help. He poured a sample of each so I could taste without knowing which brew I was trying. I also grabbed a small bowl of Glutino's GF Pretzels to compliment my tasting experience. Plus my favorite water bottle because hydration is key to living at 9,000 feet above sea level. I felt like I was having a GF Beerfest in my own kitchen.

The black glass had a bit more of a bitter aftertaste while the green glass was smoother. I should have made more notes but like a kid on Christmas morning I flicked on the camera to see which he had poured into each glass.

Bard's was in the Black glass while New Planet was in the green glass.

I'd have to say that for the summer season my winner is New Planet, I'm really excited to have so many options and may try for a rotation, with a 6-pack of each I'm stocked for a bit as my beer fest consisted of 1 of each of the two beers.

Plus I like the cap reading on the Bard's

Cheers to Pacific Street Liquors in Telluride for having Green's, New Planet, Bard's and New Grist all at the same time! They've also been helping me sort through my wine issue and carrying lots of organic and sulfite free wines including the Orleans Hill.

Moab and a bit of blog love

Each spring, when the ski lifts stop turning but the snow is still falling there seems to be a huge influx of Colorado visitors to Utah. We joined the ranks a few weekends ago and hit Moab for some sunshine and relaxation with our two goldens along the muddy Colorado River.

This time we were well prepared for glutarded travels. We were camping with a small stove and planned to make most of our meals. Dave planned campfire potatoes with gluten free bun-less hot dogs for one night and Ancient Harvest quinoa pasta with gf sausage for the other. I brought a bit of Redbridge to enjoy by the campfire at night and lunches were easy thanks to Udi's Gluten free bread that tastes good even untoasted. Breakfast would have been a snap with jars of Artisans Pancake mix, a bit of butter, a 8oz travel soy milk and egg but instead I found this online and had to try it. I've become a big fan of just googling "gluten free" with the name of my destination.  

The Love Muffin in downtown Moab makes gluten free and vegan muffins. I had a GF Banana Muffin and was pretty happy. It was a bit dry but a solid muffin overall. We went back the next day and they were out of muffins so I had eggs & potatoes, they also had a warm quinoa salad for breakfast with honey and fruit but I just wasn't feeling it.

 Back at home I've been enjoying street noodles and working on my wok skills. We also found a recreation of my beloved but oh-so-far-away PF Chang's Lettuce Wraps from Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom.

Heidi broke it down and while we haven't tried the whole process we loved learning the trick of the rice noodles. Dropping the noodles in the hot oil is every bit of fun as she describes. I tried two different rice noodles and liked the thinner mai fun noodles better. We served with some rice and enjoyed the meal.

After I learned I had a problem with gluten we bought a rice cooker and it gets used at least once a week. Dave's always been a rice fan and we had been devoute rice a roni people until I learned that a lot the the seasoning packets weren't safe. If you invest in one be sure to get one that also has a steam basket as it makes great steamed veggies as well.

Wine Plus No Bakes Equals...

Thank you to all who entered my first giveaway, I've emailed the winners and look forward to doing another giveaway soon.
Over the years I've learned that wine and cooking go along well together. A good cook can overcome any obstacle that the wine may bring forth.... even if messing up simple math and doubling the butter on a simple No Bake Cookie Recipe.

Simple Recipe + Wine= Double the Earth Balance Butter then a double batch

No Bake Cookies (single batch)

1 3/4 cups white sugar

1/2 cup milk (soy for me)

1/2 cup butter (earth's balance) *note ONE stick is 1/2 cup not two sticks! 

4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Bring the above to a gentle boil on the stove top. Let boil for 30-60 seconds to let sugar really dissolve.

Turn off heat then add:

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/3 cup coconut flakes (optional but delish)

3 cups gluten free oats

1 teaspoon gf vanilla extract

Spoon onto parchment or wax paper in even piles to the size of your liking.

Mini M&M's make for a colorful add in

Store in the fridge for a longer shelf life

The cookies seemed to go on forever....

Thankfully my No Bake Cookies have a good reputation and I had no problem pawning them off on others to enjoy as well. I'm lucky and seem to do fine with GF Oats. I keep at least a bag of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Oats on hand at all times for snacks like this.

I'm drinking more organic wine these days as I think I have a problem with sulfites (but really I have no idea) and these tend to not bother me. Our Daily Red has been a go-to but I'm also enjoying Orleans Hill Cabernet Sauvignon as it's smoother.

And I'm also lucky that both my pups are very forgiving with my no-bake "disasters"

Gluten free happy hour

There aren't many places that carry gluten free beer and I'm happy to say the the historic last dollar saloon in telluride is one of them. Happy hour is a lot more mellow when I can sip a beer like everyone else. Cheers to the Buck!

Capella

There aren't many places I trust to work with my challenges but the suede bar at capella takes great care to work an ensure my gluten free and dairy free needs! They take all very seriously and work with me to ensure a safe dining experience. Plus they make a good marg!
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A new brew....

Greens discovery amber ale- two daves and catching up on drama tv. Some people call it Tuesday.... But its really drama day on MTV.
Trying to discrimination on the beer's flavour and compare it to a taste from almost a year ago.... My two current beer drinkers are also trying to describe it..... Wood chuck? Mirror pond?? Still undecided on if it beats out red bridge....
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Labor day

What does it mean when your redbridge label is upside down?
We are enjoying the weekend and set up camp for the afternoon beside the alpine lake and let the dogs swim while we enjoyed the fire.
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not-so-gluten-free books

my collection of gluten free books became not-so-gluten-free tonight when dave upset his gluten filled fat tire on my stack.... does this mean that I can not longer use these as a gf resource? This is why dave should also drink redbridge.

we have family in town and made an assortment of pizza this evening... two small gf chebe crusts and some glutenous pies that were off limits to me. For my gf selections we made a pesto with fresh cheese, peperoni, and basil then a thai pie with peanut sauce, carrots, cilantro and a spicy chicken. Even two year old Moyer enjoyed the Thai pie and the homemade peanut sauce so I thought I'd share the recipe.
Pizza has always been a staple for me and I used to love Thai Pies but after going wheat free learned that the peanut sauce was off limits to me. I've been playing around with homemade peanut sauces to ensure safety and happiness.

Peanut Sauce for Thai Pie
as always i made sure all of these were gluten free...
6 tablespoons peanut butter
1 cup boiling water
4 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
garlic- I used 2 teaspoons dry powder
cayenne pepper to taste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2-4 tablespoons cornstarch
Mix peanut butter and water until well combined. Add all but cornstarch. Slowly mix cornstarch until desired thickness is obtained. this may be done after sauce is chilled to ensure that it doesn't become too thick. Refrigerate and it will keep for over a week.

I'd share pictures of the pizzas but after a long day they didn't last for a photo!

Dinner on the road....

At whole foods today I pick up a hot lunch and packed a cool dinner at the food bar. My quinona, chicken and potatoes kept well in the cooler all afternoon and make a yummy wheat free dinner at the hotel tonight. It saves me from navigating a restaurant's menu as well as letting me relax at the hotel.
That's what I love about whole foods.... Its not just a salad but a food bar with lots of wheat free options! Plus I grabbed some redbridge and like it much better then the last wheat free beer I sampled.
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A quiet weekend

I am reading gluten free girl again since I first read it unknowning that I may have any food issue beyond my hatred of seafood. The first time I read it I hoped to learn more about friends with celiac and gluten intolerance and ended up creating a good base of knowledge for my wheat issues. It was powerful to learn that giving up foods like beer and homemade Mac & cheese wouldn't be easy but eventually would be replaceable. I didn't get a photo but made one of Pamela's chocolate cake mixes and loved it! The cake came out moist and fudge packed- I have a hard time remembering what wheat flour cake tasted like!
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