Big Help

I just want to say how encouraging it is to see that other people are reading my blog. Other people I don't know (and those I do).

For my work, I have to set up these dinners that hollywood insiders (i.e. producers, screenwriters, visual effects supervisors, etc.) go to and meet with various students. Sometimes I have to sit in on the dinners. Last week, being one of those weeks. The dinner planned was a penne pasta with shrimp.






WOAH now! That is a huge No-No. So I spoke with the waiter, Frederico, and asked him if there was any way the kitchen could cook me up something that I could eat. (By the way, I work for my Universities Film school and the dinners are catered by the same company who runs the cafeteria here. Sodexho.) I had to explain several times to my hard to understand latino friend what gluten was and what I could not have. Eventually I just asked if I could have a chicken dish with no pasta. He obliges and I receive a (not so great) chicken breast over mexican rice. It was not the best combination of flavors or fantastic tasting, but it was GF.

Tonight I thought I'd have to sit in on the dinner again, and I ran into Frederico in the cafeteria at lunch. He introduced me to the chef who would be cooking the dinner for tonight, and he, Louis, asked me what I would like. Isn't that nice? It ends up that tonights dinner is GF anyhow, and that we have enough students to sit in on the dinners. It's still nice to know they are happy to help me out.


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This ones good for St. Patrick's Day. Being that it's green and all.

Spinach & Artichoke Dip









recipe found here

Ingredients
2 cups shredded gf mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup gf sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated & divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 roasted garlic cloves
One 14 ounce can gf artichoke hearts (in water), drained & chopped
16 ounces gf cream cheese
5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed, drained & chopped
gf tortilla chips (most are)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups mozzarella, sour cream, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese, pepper, garlic, artichoke hearts, cream cheese and spinach. Stir until thoroughly blended.

Spoon mixture into a 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top.
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Fruit is naturally gluten-free.
It's also naturally fantastic.

A Heart Full of Love and Fistfull of Change

I was sitting in my friend's dorm room tonight after a rehearsal for a friends directing class (my face and eyes are all red, watery, and itchy, because aside from being gluten intolerant I am also cat intolerant.) and I wasn't particularly hungry, but as I watched her eat those chips ahoy cookies, I just wanted to grab them from her and shovel them in my mouth.

Lately, I find I want the things I can't have more and more. I almost say, "what the hell?! a little gluten now and then can't hurt, right?" Of course I know that is a horrible idea. I feel that if more gluten-free options were easily available I wouldn't be creepily staring at my friends bag of dry and not so tasty chip's ahoy. It's really quite difficult being gluten intolerant and living in the dorms. While the cafeteria does offer gluten-free, white rice bread, the bread is unfortunately somehow not as good as the bread I have in my fridge. Even though it's the same brand, Food for Life, my brown rice pecan bread holds up so much better. My cafeteria needs to try harder.

Today I went in to the restaurant services office with recipes and demands in hand. I was all ready to declare war on wheat and the SodexHo representive for my school with much to say about how little they have done to help me when they promised me so much, but then the representative, Mr. Nargi, wasn't there. Figures. So I left him the recipes and a note. If there are warnings on our entrees that list "May Contain Pork" and "May Contain Peanuts", then there needs to be labels declaring what is safe and gluten-free. really now is this symbol so difficult to place?





I think not. I plan on e-mailing Mr. Nargi tomorrow to ensure that he received my note. None of the recipes I gave him included ingredients that the cafeteria does not already have. These came from the book Living Gluten-Free for Dummies.
So I'm hoping to see these meals integrated into mass servings. Not just for me. How cool and educational would it be for a meal to be made en mass that glowed with the gluten free logo that all my school would see? They'd be wondering what it meant as they devoured the delicious and nutritious meal.

Until I have a home of my own I can't cook things like Pineapple Salsa Chicken Enchiladas




I got this recipe from a fellow gluten-free blogger at glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com


2 cups of your favorite salsa
3 cups cooked chicken, torn or shredded pieces
Juice from one fresh lime
sea salt and ground pepper, or Lemon Pepper
olive oil, as needed
8 corn tortillas
1 cup chopped pineapple
1 4-oz. can chopped green chiles
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
hot red pepper flakes, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Pour about a half cup of salsa into the bottom a lightly oiled 9x12" baking dish.

Squeeze lime juice all over the cooked chicken; season with sea salt and pepper and toss well to coat.

Heat a dash of olive oil in a skillet, and heat one corn tortilla until softened, turning it over once to coat with oil. Place the tortilla into the sauced baking dish; fill with 1/8 of the chicken, and roll up seam side down, placing it at the far end of the dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas, adding more oil, if needed.

Pour the remaining salsa all over the rolled tortillas. Top with the pineapple, then the chiles. Sprinkle with cheddar and red pepper flakes.

Bake in a 350 degree F. oven until the enchiladas are bubbling and heated through, about 30 minutes.

This recipe is easily doubled [with a larger pan, or use two pans].

Serves 3 to 4, depending upon appetites.


I'd say that beat whatever I ate today...
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Stop eating gluten and you may no longer need that Adderral.