gluten free lunch and a snowshoe in the Maine woods

 
It's been a funny winter this year and we haven't seen as much snow in Maine as we'd like to. That hasn't stopped us and a few weeks back we ventured out to the Mount Abraham area for a snowshoe hike. We dug the snowshoes out from our trusty Thule box and dressed the pups up in their technical Ruffwear Soft shells so that when they rolled in the snow they'd stay a little dry. 

These pups love good gear and sometimes can be found sporting doggy backpacks on our adventures. Chaos isn't able to walk too far so we tromped through the woods and down to the river and had lunch. Dave fired up our stove and within 20 minutes we were enjoying a bit of curry from Backpacker's Pantry.

We've often used these meals for convenience while camping last summer and the meal was very satisfying after a winter trudge through soft snow. The upside with the funky weather is that we've enjoyed a lot more sunshine then normal for a Maine winter which has helped to ease the transition from the high altitude sunshine of Colorado.

Gluten Free Travels to Quebec City

On a recent chilly weekend my dear friend celebrated her birthday and I joined her on a trip to Quebec City to commemorate the occasion. Like any seasoned gluten free traveler I googled my options, downloaded a french restaurant card  and packed a bag full of snacks. French is the sole language of Quebec and although it's less that a four hour drive from our home in Maine it felt worlds away.

 So far away that we thought about taking on new identities....as ice figures. Until we realized that we'd melt eventually.

We did some great sightseeing around the area including the Hotel De Glace for a chilly drink and a ride down the ice slide.

The first night we had dinner at Voo Doo which was near our hotel on the Grande Allee. I had the risotto which was warm and filling on a very chilly night. Thankfully I wasn't around a thermometer to remind me exactly how cold it was but it was a don't-go-outside-without-long-underwear-and-at-least-two-jackets-cold. Our waiter was great and took one of my print outs back to the kitchen. Plus they brought Sara a flaming birthday cake...

The next night we had dinner at a traditional Quebec restaurant the

Aux Anciens Canadiens  and I was delighted when I found Risotto on the menu. Seriously, I'd much rather have risotto on a cold night then a salad! Our waitress was less enthused that our waiter from the night before but double checked with the kitchen for me.

Their risotto was covered in cheese and my favorite part was the veggies. After a chilly walk in which I couldn't even begin to work off that plate of cheese, we ended our night at the revolving restaurant above the city.

It was a great trip and I was glad to be prepared with my bag of gluten free goodies. I managed to eat safely but was pretty nervous with the language barrier at times.

Cooking versus Knitting

I've been meaning to post more but now that we're in the thick of winter I'm finding that I'm craving knitting time more so then cooking time. Thankfully one of my gluten free sisters has been picking up my slack and offering her insight to Think Outside the Breadbox showcasing not only her lovely Pumpkin Bisque but also a hand knitted sweater covered in soup. Two loves collide...thankfully it's a washable merino wool. My knitting project list keeps growing and I seem to always have at least 3 projects rolling at once. I've been finding it hard to put my needles down to catch up on my blogging.
However, a knitter does need to keep up her energy and I've been fueling up with some great staples. I like to start my day with breakfast before I hit the needles to hard and have found that frozen Maine blueberries defrost quickly when added to a bowl of gluten free quick oats.

I've whipped up items for household use like a swiffer cover that I found on Pinterest, I need to make a few more. The textured cotton works much better then the Swiffer pads and are eco-friendly.

I made mine so I could just tuck it into the little swiffer holds.  Somehow I've even been on a salad kick lately. I'm not sure what's wrong with me as it's usually not in my rotation. Perhaps it's the Maine winter with it's lack of sunshine that's making me crave greens or maybe it's the lovely greens I've been knitting with.

I did manage to find a new gluten and dairy free dressing to use. I've also got a gf/df ranch but I'm holding that one until our next homemade chicken tenders night.

What keeps you out of the kitchen and how do you get your mojo back? I did manage to eek out a batch of Whoopie Pies for Valentine's Day (shouldn't everyone get  a little whoopie for the holiday?) but overall my flour usage has dropped considerably.

pumpkin bisque

Somebody enjoyed her soup.

That somebody is Keturah, Kate's niece. 

I'm her mom, and Kate's sister.  I've posted here on Think Outside before.  And seeing as I've pretty much joined the gluten free club, I just may post here again. (Convenient having a sister with an already up and running GF blog--besides, if I were to start my own, there's no way I could ever come up with a name quite as clever as Think Outside the Breadbox. I have loved this name for as long as she's had the blog, and am happy to be posting under it!)

We're in the experiment stage of living with dietary restrictions.  I, like Kate, am gluten free--currently in my fifth month of being gluten free, actually--while my daughter, Keturah, is gluten free plus.  For now, the 'plus' means corn, dairy, and eggs.  She's still showing signs of food sensitivities, though, so we have some testing to do, and possibly a few more limitations to try as well.

As we experiment with what Keturah can and cannot eat, we're also experimenting with meals that work for the whole family.  My husband and son don't seem to have any food issues,  but they do like their food to be good.

Which is why I was really thrilled that this Keturah-friendly soup was deemed "restaurant quality" by Patrick the other night!

~Pumpkin Bisque~

1 small (not quite bowling ball sized) pumpkin, cut into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed

3 large carrots, peeled, and sliced

1 large onion, chopped

1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced

2 T butter

1 t ground coriander

2 T olive oil

2 t sea salt

1 t freshly ground black pepper

2 cups chicken stock

After you've prepared all of the produce, melt about two tablespoons of butter (or use olive oil) in the bottom of a soup pot.  Toss in at least a teaspoon of ground coriander, and let fry for a minute.  Toss in the chopped onion and ginger.  Saute until onions are tender.  

At this point, if the bottom of the pan has dried up, add about two tablespoons of olive oil.  Put in the sea salt, black pepper, and the rest of the produce.  Toss the produce around with a large wooden spoon until coated with seasonings and olive oil, then let cook for a few minutes (with the lid on), come back, and toss with the spoon again to rotate which veggies are on the bottom.  Repeat for about fifteen minutes, until the produce looks like it's beginning to cook, but not burn or dry out.

Once everything was hot and just slightly browned, I plopped in a tupperware-shaped cube of chicken stock that we had in the freezer.  (Boiled from the bones and meat of a roast chicken carcass from a few weeks ago.)  If you use a prepared broth that has sodium, DO remember to omit some of the salt used in this recipe!  Add water as needed, but keep the lid on, and stir now and again for as long as you have time to let it simmer.  Ours simmered stove top for almost two hours.

Then I turned off the heat, and waited until dinner time to run it all through the blender and reheat.

This turned out rich and creamy, and was a very filling main dish.  The kids both scraped their bowls clean--as did their daddy and me.

In fact, the only thing that was not satisfying about this meal was Patrick's assessment that not only was it restaurant quality, but it that it would taste fantastic in a bread bowl.

Really?

I think somebody needs to try a little harder to think outside the breadbox.

"Oh Bother" Gluten Free Smoothies

I love my Eeyore mug, it's over sized is the perfect fit for a powerful smoothie whenever I'm fighting off ski country germs (all winter long). The best part about ski towns is that we get visitors from all over- the worst part is that they all bring different strains of germs along with them. I wish we could just have the people but it's a package deal.

Oh Bother Smoothie
1 handful ice cubes
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (Wild Maine Blueberries preferred here at campchaos)
1 cup apple juice (or a bit more)
1 scoop Spiru-tein High Energy Meal Vanilla Flavor (make sure it's labeled gluten free!)

Toss all into a blender and hit the smoothie button until smooth. Place in favorite mug and enjoy while fighting germs.  
Note: this won't save you from getting germs from away then getting slammed with a cold but it will taste good and help you fight the cold so you can get back on the slopes without a large pocketful of cough drops and tissues. I fully expect to see you out there regardless of how you feel. It's New England and we're hard core skiers. Now, can I borrow a tissue? What you don't want it back? Never-mind, I'll just keep my germs to myself behind my scarf here.

gluten free chicken soup for the skier's soul

Usually every soup I make ends up having a curry flavor (like this one). It's an easy one to grab off the shelf and I know how it's going to come out. This week I got back to basics and aimed for a Chicken Soup that tasted, well like chicken soup.  Dave's a bit tired of curry soup too- it could be due to the fact that I usually use a large 8qt pot and end up filling it and we end up eating a few days worth of curry soup.
The night before I cut the chicken and marinated with EVOO and some Herbs de Provence. The next day I chopped veggies (around 6 big carrots, 1/2 large onion and 3 stalks of celery) while I cooked the chicken and boiled a half of a cup of dry lentils. I changed the water twice on the lentils as I like to be sure they're nice and clean. Although I didn't have to pre-cook,  I wasn't sure how long I was going to be and I'm still adjusting to the low cook times of sea level. Do lentils ever taste dirty to you or did I just make that up in my head?
I tossed everything in the 4 quart crock pot along with chicken stock and 1/2 cup of quinoa and cooked on low for 8 hours while I went out and hit the mountain for the day. It's been super cold here in the western mountains of Maine and I'm playing around with different combos of down jackets and hard shells. I've also grabbed the warmest fleece pants I own and paired them with Patagonia capaline for the super chilly sub zero days. 
It was a great mix up from the rice and curry soup that usually hits the table at camp chaos and I even tossed a handful of fresh spinach into my bowl to for some added veggie power. The quinoa really didn't need 8 hours so I may toss it in later in the day next time. A warm soup after a chill day at Sugarloaf really hit the spot and defrosted my body.

my gluten free english muffin dealer

Part of the fun about living in a Maine ski town is the weekend crew that arrives each Friday night. These hard core skiers work a normal work week then each Friday load up their cars and make the trek north on route 27. They might hit the local watering hole when they get to the Valley but regardless they're up early on Saturday vying for first chair. It doesn't matter how cold the thermometer drops and how high the humidity climbs and how negative the windchill becomes- they are Sugarloafers and they live for these days on the mountain.

This year I'm lucky enough to have friends who will be my English Muffin dealers. They come up from the Maine coast and will swing into the "Hootin" Gluten Free Bakery and grab a four pack for me. These are the only gluten free English Muffin's I've tried but I feel I know a good baked good when I see one.

We don't rock a toaster oven at camp chaos so I toss a bit of Earth Balance in a pan on the stove top and heat these gently. Add a bit of homemade jam and it's a breakfast that will fuel any day on the slopes- no matter how cold.

Gluten free family time with a bit of Hakuna Matata

Have I ever told you that my house is called Camp Chaos?

 It's because of this guy. Chaotic isn't he? It's what we dubbed ourselves shortly after bringing home our first puppy, Chaos Monster in Febuary, 2005. The name's stuck and it's followed us from  Maine to Colorado and back to Maine. It's a great ode to our beloved golden retriever, Chaos who's about to celebrate his 7th birthday. Chaos was the first dog I ever had the pleasure of living with. He's taught me a lot since I brought him home as a young puppy in early 2005.  His soft golden mane is often a source of comfort and reminds me of my favorite Disney movie, The Lion King. I was in high school when the Lion King first came out and it earned it's place as my favorite all time Disney flick. I think that's why I love my golden puppies so much as Chaos often resembles a regal Mufasa and crazy little Mayhem is a young Simba. When the movie came back out on DVD this year I quickly snatched up a copy and enjoyed the movie along my memories of being a favorite babysitter to my young cousins.


This week my sister, Kim came for a visit with her husband and two kiddos- Moyer's who's almost 5 and Keturah who's 3 going on 7. Kim and Keturah are in the midst of a gluten free trial and Kim did a guest post a few weeks back about their Mighty Fine dining experience in Austin, TX. So far with this trial  they've discovered that Keturah doesn't do well with corn as well as gluten. As most of us glutards know a lot of gluten free items contain corn in one form or another so we stuck to a lot of naturally gluten free, corn free foods during their visit to camp chaos. Like Annie's Gluten Free Mac N Cheese with some hamburger and peas added in for fun.

The kids and I watched The Lion King the first morning here at Camp Chaos and the rest of the visit featured small voices singing lines of Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata! It means no worries for the rest of your days

We even tried to make some corn free powdered sugar for our Chex Muddy Buddies...

Played Legos (because every good aunt and uncle should have a house with legos...)
Walked the dogs which was even better with shoulder rides from Patrick

But he wouldn't give the dogs shoulder rides- they had to walk

as did Moyer but he liked to run, jump and hop more then walk. He is a good runner.

We took time to make the donuts...gluten and corn free.
And of course I whipped up some knitted projects for the kids. You can see those over at Asiaramblin 

I've been really impressed with my dining experiences at the Rack since we've moved back to Sugarloaf and even more so after our trip with my gluten free, corn free niece. Our waitress (who's also gluten free) double checked the gluten free options for us for traces of corn and Keturah enjoyed a great safe bowl of gf, corn free noodles and marinaira.

 Don't you wish every gluten free meal could have a bit of Hakuna Matata?