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.

angel food cake

Last week I found our fridge hosting an abundance of eggs and my sweet tooth aching for a dessert... I pulled out the Bronski's Artisanal Gluten Free Cookbook and flipped for a bit before landing on the angel food cake recipe. Perfect.

I measured everything and waited for the egg whites to come up to room tempature... and waited and waited... this was hard.

When I was able to start whipping I had to pull out the kitchen aid book to remind myself of what settings to whip the egg whites into stiff peaks (high on 8).

and whipped.... almost ready but not quite...

 after a bit in the oven I pulled it out and enjoyed the intoxicating smell of angel food cake. It was so pretty in the bunt pan that I really hated trying to take it out after letting it cool. (I don't have a angel food pan so I just subbed the bunt pan)

I managed to get it out of the pan but it wasn't pretty. Thankfully it tasted great and Dave and I managed to polish it off in just a few days. As always the Bronski's recipe didn't disappoint, I'm looking forward to their cupcake book which is due out this June 1.

Chaos's Gluten Free Cookies

Today I took a break from baking for humans and made some cookies for Chaos and Mayhem. It's not the first time I've made them but it's been a while and it was my first time making them gluten free. We've banned gluten flour from the house as it gives me a migraine to bake with it and Dave isn't much of a baker.
I'd love to give credit but the recipe has been in my book since at least 2006 and I have no idea where it came from. We've dubbed them Chaos Cookies and they were very well received by a tough panel of judges, Chaos, Mayhem and their friend Stella.

Chaos's Gluten Free Dog Cookies
Ingredients
1 cup flour (I used my old batch of Gluten Free Featherlight)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix Flour and baking powder then add peanut butter and milk. Combine then roll out on floured surface to 1/4" thickness. Cut out your pups favorite shapes or keep it simple. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until the cookies are golden brown. Cool before serving to your pup! Keeps best in fridge or freezer.

I've found that a simple shape makes for the best cookie cutter. We had a skinnier dog bone cookie cutter but found that the bones broke easily. I also made some triangles for smaller treats for toy stuffing.

 The judges all agreed- they loved the peanut butter flavor and the smells that came out of the kitchen. They couldn't even tell that the cookies were gluten free.

A bit of local love... Brown Dog Telluride

From Droid think outside

I feel like gluten free is finally gone more mainstream. I think this as I have options in my small mountain town of Telluride. I mean I can even go out for pizza with my friends like a normal person, in a sports bar, which happens to have a mini- Fenway on the back wall.
This is a very new development. I found out about the Brown Dog offering gluten free pizza about a month ago but when I called to ask about it there was only one chef who would work with the dough and he wasn't working the night that my friends wanted to go out. I called again for the next group outing and it was official- I could get pizza. The pie had a thin crust which I'm fond of, not quiet New York thin but definitely not Chicago Style.
This doesn't help out my effort to ditch the dairy but it's great to have another option and be able to get food with friends at the local sports bar, good thing as it just might be Red Sox season in my house.

A bit of blog love...Lettuce Wraps... a la PF Chang Style

One of my favorite things about reading other blogs is being able to relate to another person's gluten free story. Each of us arrived at the gluten-free lifestyle a different way but we each stay for the same reason- to feel good and enjoy food again. Posting recipes and sharing food via the internet, blog love at it's finest.
Dave and I have been making lettuce wraps for years but the other night we dug up Heidi's recipe over at Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom and used it as a guide to make PF Chang Style Lettuce wraps. So good and a great dinner for two...

I'd like to blame my lack of blogging on spring. I'd love to say that the weather's been great so we're spending time outside with the dogs at night instead of the kitchen but that's sadly not the case as we had over a foot of snow last week Yes, it's May. Yes, I do miss spring. Yes, it's mostly melted now so I can start to pull out chacos until the next snowstorm later this week.
Dave's a snowmaker and groomer at the ski resort so we're readjusting to making dinner for two again. I'm spending a lot less time in the kitchen making and perfecting new recipes and experiments. When I dine alone, I tend to get obsessed with a new dish. Dave won't go for that as he likes variety. We're trying to move into summer mode even if Mother Nature has other ideas for us.

time to make the donuts... dunkin munchkin style

There's some key memories that I have from growing up in New England, days at the ocean, campfires with s'mores on maple branches, the smell of a forest heavy with pine, black flies and Dunkin' Donuts. We sadly found out when we moved west of the Mississippi that America does not run on Dunkin- just the east coast. Walk around Boston and you'll find a Dunkin on every block. I get jealous while back east when others enjoy Dunkin Donuts... especially Munchkins, little balls of happiness... unless you happen to be a glutard then the little ball of happiness becomes a little ball of great pain.
We've become good at making donuts (ah donuts...see memories here) but it was more of a french crueler style all light and airy. I found a post on Going Gluten Free for Dunkin Style Donuts and we used our first lazy off season Saturday to try it out.
We stuck to the recipe with just a few tweaks. I used Almond Milk and Artisan Gluten Free Flour Blend that is my go to flour blend. We tried powdered sugar to finish them off in but found out that both Dave and I prefer a cinnamon and sugar mix.  We used a fondue pot to keep the temp steady at 375 and did small batches. We learned that we don't have a fire extinguisher so we kept the baking soda handy and kept everything out of the way of the hot oil.

Dough

 

 

Mayhem and Chaos

Make the dough then let it rest as directed. Realize the two dogs are being very cute together and snap a photo of the lovable brothers before getting the oil heated and you area prepped.

baking soda for safety...

 

 

 

a cookie dough scoop makes pretty and uniform balls

golden colored perfection

proper tools help a lot... like this fancy scooper

shake with cinnamon and sugar then enjoy!

It was a perfect off season Saturday project... for those unfamiliar with "off season" it's best defined as the time after winter and before summer while the ski area, the town and the people thaw out. Many people take this time to get out of town to warm locations. It's a very quiet time in town and can also be called mud season. Today it could be confused with winter as it's starting to snow again...

a bit of local love.... Rustico Ristorante

I'll be honest. I couldn't have guessed that I'd be back to Rustico... after all it's an upscale Italian resturant in Telluride which specializes in gluten filled pastas. I've had some great meals there and they helped me learn to love spinach. The time between ski season and the busy summer festival season is often called off season here in town and Rustico runs some great off season specials so when friends wanted to gather there for dinner I checked the website and made a phone call before committing to a Big Night Out this past Tuesday.

From Droid think outside

Caprese Salad is not dairy free but is a great love of mine. I'll cheat for dairy but wouldn't even think of cheating with gluten. I do wear the marks of the indiscretion on my face like a scarlet letter and feel sluggish for a day after but the flavor of tomoto, basil and cheese melding makes it hard to behave....

From Droid think outside

For the main course I enjoyed a modified Vitello al Carciofi, they left my thinly sliced veal un-breaded and gently sauteed it with artichokes, capers and white wine. (I could have also enjoyed Risotto too) it was a delight and I easily joined the clean plate club and had a great evening with good friends while avoiding gluten.

time flies...

It's been a busy end of the ski season here at campchaos. We enjoyed the final day of the season with friends and I learned the hard way that Hot Cocoa is to remain suspect... and spent the evening after the final afternoon in a gluten fog.... arugh.

On a lighter note I was able to do a comparison of New Planet's Brews....  Tread Lightly still reigns supreme for me over Off Grid. I'm sure there will be times where I will love Off Grid. It's got a heavier, molasses flavor and my palate likes the light tones of Tread Lightly. I had a friend set up a blind test for me but I'll be honest- the color gave it away.

I've been trying a twist on my classic banana bread and adding blueberries instead of chocolate chips. (YUM- altough next time I'm going to look for mini blueberries instead of large ones.)

I've also been perfecting my knife skills on my chinese food and trying lots of veggie combos, Dave headed back east for a bit so I was able to eat the same meal all week for lunch and dinner.

From Droid think outside

I've also been on a Udi's love fest and even enjoyed a bagel sandwich with Justin's Chocolate Nut Butter and Bananas.... highly recommend it for a case of the Monday's. It's even better when you can pair it with a pair of cute furry faces cuddling on a dog bed together...

We're just getting back from a mini-vacation to a popular National Park... stay tuned for more photo's like this... it's a mere 6 hour drive from Telluride and one of the more dog friendly park's I've been to.