Pizza! Pizza! - Part 1

We've been trying out a TON of gluten-free pizza lately - I'm excited to share it all with you! More posts to come...


Thank goodness for Twitter. 

Without it, I would have never found out that my absolute favorite pre-Celiac pizza chain was working on a gluten-free pizza. 

It also would have taken me MUCH longer to figure out that the store five seconds from my house had started serving it.

I can't even begin to describe to you how happy this makes me.

In an attempt to explain, let me give you a little history on my love for Mellow Mushroom. The Hubby and I bought our house in 2007 and had to completely re-learn our surroundings. The first thing you find when you move? A grocery store. One one of our first drives between our house and the nearest grocery store (Albertson's, which is now a shiny new super-awesome Kroger that sells Kinnickinnick among tons of other gluten-free goodies), we noticed this funky-looking place called Mellow Mushroom, and the name of the place rang a bell - some guys at work had raved about the pizza, and the name (unsurprisingly) stuck with me.

We went once not long after that and fell in love with it. The best pizza I've EVER had. Beautifully hand-tossed, perfectly chewy, browned to perfection crust with every topping you can imagine available. Great beer selection, laid-back vibe. Our kind of place.

Fast forward a few months into early 2008. The Hubby and I, after much anticipation, started the dreaded but necessary process of remodeling our kitchen. This meant a new routine of microwaveable meals, take out, and eating out at restaurants...and because of its proximity to our house, we ended up visiting Mellow Mushroom at least once a week for several months. 

Ironically enough, it was during one of these visits that I finally decided to see a specialist about my stomach troubles that had been rapidly increasing in frequency. I got halfway through my first piece of pizza before literally doubling over with the worst stomach pain I've ever felt. Come to find out, they put EXTRA gluten in their pizza crust  (no I'm not kidding) to make it taste as good as it does. That was the last time we went for pizza at Mellow Mushroom.

Until now.

The Hubby follows our local Mellow Mushroom on Twitter. One Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, he saw their announcement that they were (finally!) serving gluten-free pizza, and we were waiting for a table there a few hours later. 


Here's where the cool stuff starts. I asked for a drink menu while we were waiting at the bar, and noticed that gluten-free beverages were labeled as such. I treated myself to a Strongbow cider - and it was awesome. First time I'd tried one, and I definitely had a second one to wash down my pizza.


Once we were seated, I mentioned right away to our server that I would need to order gluten-free and asked if there was a separate menu. She sat down in the booth beside me and showed me this:

It's a blurry iPhone picture (sorry!), but it's a listing of the ingredients of their gluten-free pizza crust (bean flour, rice flour, tapioca flour and starch, xantham gum, salt, yeast, egg, cider vinegar, sugar, canola oil, and calcium-something-or-other that I'm assuming is a preservative or binder), as well as all of the toppings that they have that are gluten-free. See that "Certified Gluten-Free" bit in the lower right-hand corner? Sweet.


So...I ordered my Strongbow along with my very own pizza (only comes in one size like most of the gluten-free pizzas I've had...good excuse to get one all to myself) topped with mozzarella, ricotta, tomato, and spinach. 

Sorry - this picture was a total afterthought. I had downed an entire piece and was reaching for a second before The Hubby reminded me that you guys might want to see what it looked like.

I have to say, the experience was great. The staff is well-trained and take cross-contamination issues seriously. After ordering ricotta for my pizza, our server came to double-check that I had indeed seen it on the list of approved ingredients, as the cooks wanted to verify. The best part? The pizza was GOOD. Not the best gluten-free pizza I've ever had, but (hear me out!) definitely not anywhere near being bad, and we will absolutely be going back...soon. 

The crust was different than any I've had - the outer crust (my favorite part) was light and airy with a good crunchy outside and chewy interior...things that you don't find often in gluten-free breads. I'm convinced it was the tapioca flour that made the difference.

My usual routine is to eat around half of my pizza, then take the rest home for later. This pizza was awesome reheated in the toaster oven.  I'm excited to see if the pizza improves as the cooks get used to this whole gluten-free thing.

I was so excited about our whole experience that I sent an email to their corporate office thanking them as soon as we got home. This is the response that I got back from the "Ambassador of Fun" from our local store:

Dear Kelly,

We are so glad you enjoyed your Gluten-Free experience with us! We just recently started offering Gluten-Free pizza and it's great to already receive such positive feed back. We want you to enjoy yourself to the fullest (literally!) each and every time you come in to Mellow Mushroom. We understand that it can be very difficult for someone with Celiac Disease to sit down at a restaurant and eat a pizza with confidence, it is a pleasure, a priority, and a great compliment for us. Thank you so much for taking the time to e-mail us and please let me know the next time you come in to dine at Mellow Mushroom! 

Another nugget of interest: our server told us that it had taken Mellow Mushroom longer than expected to offer gluten-free pizza because the first few recipes they came up with tasted like cardboard and did not hold up to their standards. I'm glad they took their time!


Mellow Mushroom currently has stores in the following states:


Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Product Review: Gluten Free Pantry Chocolate Chip Cookie & Cake Mix

Remember how I mentioned in a previous post that the awesome folks at Gluten Free Pantry sent me a box full of goodies to try out? Well, now that I finally have some free time on my hands, I'm finally getting a chance to go through it all. First was the pizza crust, now the good stuff - cake! Specifically chocolate chip cookie & cake mix. 

As was the case with the french bread & pizza crust mix, the instructions were easy to understand and very few extra ingredients were needed. I opted to make the cake version of the mix, which called for:

• Box o' mix (duh)
• 5 tbsp softened, unsalted butter
• 2 eggs + 1 egg white (I used three eggs because, well...I'm lazy. And I hate seperating eggs. So sue me.)
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla

As I mentioned in my little preview of this baking extravaganza (at my house this is as extravagant as it gets these days), I decided to be different and use half of the batter to make cupcakes and half to experiment with cake balls. See how trendy I am?

First up: cupcakes. 

Ta da! 

Please excuse the lack of a cupcake tin that would potentially differentiate this from a muffin. In typical fashion, I was half-distracted and totally forgot.

Isn't it pretty? It baked up perfectly in the time it recommended on the box (not the case for pretty much everything else I bake) and popped right out of the pan looking all brown and glamourous. I decided to try out Cherrybrook Kitchen Vanilla Frosting on this one...which ended up being more of a glaze once I got it on there. Looks pretty, but didn't taste the way I wanted it to. 

At The Hubby's request, I topped the rest of them with Betty Crocker chocolate frosting right out of the can. It made him very happy.

Between the two of us, we decided that the cake tasted like a chocolate chip cookie (understandable, right?) and had a fluffy, almost spongey consistency. The addition of the sour cream was a great touch - it seems to hide the gluten-free taste that a lot of mixes and flours have and it added another layer of richness. Yum.

I cooked the other half of the batter in an 8x8 brownie pan at the same temperature for my very first experiment with cake balls.

If you haven't had a cake ball, you HAVE TO TRY ONE. The Hubby and I first heard of them several years ago at one of our cake tastings for our wedding (pre-gluten-free days). I'm convinced that's how our "cake lady" lured us into choosing her to make our cake for the big day. It's like a truffle...but cake...but brownie-like...but better...covered in candy coating. Oh. My. God.

And if you've never made them before, the process is slightly time consuming but incredibly easy. People will think you slaved...and really, that's what it's all about here at Gluten Freendly. :)

Anyway, The Pioneer Woman has great little tutorials here and here. I got the basics from her instructions and pictures and went to town.

Well helloooo. 

I can't even describe to you how great these turned out, but I CAN tell you that my small batch made around 30 of these bad boys and we had them annihilated in less than a week. 

I used just plain old vanilla icing (again, Betty Crocker - gluten-free baby!). Oddly (and awesomely), the chocolate chips melted while I was mixing in the icing, resulting in a more chocolate-looking cake than chocolate chip. It was perfect, though! 

I'm finishing up another batch of these tonight, this time using Betty Crocker's gluten-free Devil's Food cake mix and a mixture of leftover chocolate and vanilla icing. Don't worry -  I'll share pictures and let you know how those turn out. 

I have eaten lots of fruit and veggies today just so I can oink out on cake balls when I get them finished. Pathetic? Yep. Do I care? Nope.

So, product review short story? Awesome. Try this mix. 

You Know What's Gluten Free? Being lazy.

Being lazy is pretty much my favorite thing.

Sounds ridiculous and remarkably unproductive in comparison to a lot of people's hobbies, interests, and time-fillers, but it makes me happy. Especially because for the past month I've been experiencing a freedom I didn't have for the three years that I was in grad school. There's nothing hanging over my head except the pile of laundry that will be there tomorrow, the fact that I desperately need to clean out our closets, and the random piles of things that need to be put away. No deadlines (other than work-related and self-imposed deadlines), no meetings to rush to after work, and no major stresses to deal with (like, say, writing a thesis). It has been wonderful to say the least.

Only having my full-time job as a serious time commitment allows me to walk unhurriedly through Target (or any other place of my choosing) after work and still get home in plenty of time to have a glass of wine and make dinner with The Hubby.

On nights when The Hubby is in class, I can lounge on the couch, eat (gluten-free) macaroni and cheese as a main course, and catch up on my "girly" shows that I'm forced to watch by myself, like So You Think You Can Dance (SO good this season so far), Grey's Anatomy, and Private Practice.

Instead of sleepless nights and research, my weekends are now filled with sleeping in, leisurely breakfasts with The Hubby, pool time, naps, and catching up on the endless list of movies we want to see.

I am so thankful for these lazy days. I will never take them for granted again.

I have a list of productive things that I want to do soon in addition to chores: learning to use my new DSLR camera and spending lots of time practicing, organizing the house, cleaning out the garage, hanging pictures in our bedroom...the list goes on and on and on.

Eventually, I'll be motivated to do those things and enjoy the process.

But for now, I'm going to stick with being lazy.

The First Thing I Cooked

Late last week, Shauna from Gluten Free Girl and the Chef  started the discussion (on Twitter) about a community project for Monday, June 14 (Yes, I realize today is Tuesday, June 15. I couldn't get it done yesterday and really wanted to participate!) challenging whoever was interested to describe the first food we ever cooked and how it made us feel.

I'm big on nostalgia. So much so that I was just looking through my junior high yearbook this morning (true story). This challenge immediately called my name.

Here's the thing: I have two pivotal cooking firsts. And because I like to be different (not difficult, as The Hubby has been known to describe me), I decided to write about both of them.

Ironically (given my now-gluten-free dietary situation), the very first thing I cooked on my own was a full batch of chocolate chip cookies, using the classic Nestle Toll House recipe that is still found on the back of every memory-inducing, crinkling yellow bag of chips. For years I had quietly taken my seat at the breakfast bar while curiously observing my Mom making everything from cookies to Christmas dinner, but for whatever reason (which quite possibly could have been my mother's exhaustion and/or her lack of will to argue my insistence) it was time for me to learn the ways of the kitchen.

I don't remember how old I was, but I know I still needed our pink folding stepladder to reach the ingredients in the pantry (always at the top, the same place I keep the baking stuff to this day) and the spot on the counter always used for prep. Mom cautiously took my seat at the bar while I assumed her role in the kitchen, armed with an electric hand mixer from the early 70s, a big shiny metal mixing bowl, a spatula, a cookie sheet, all my ingredients, and a soup spoon (for testing my dough to make sure it wasn't poisonous for the rest of the family, of course).

Mom let me do most everything completely by myself. She showed me how to preheat the oven, but everything else I did by myself. Even dealing with the oven. (Dangerous for a child? Maybe. But I remember her saying some form of "If you're old enough to cook, you're old enough to get used to the oven.")

I remember feeling incredibly independent while putting each ingredient into the bowl. Even more so when my little brother and sister marched in to find out what I was doing, only to be told that they weren't allowed to help but could sit next to her in the remaining bar stools and watch.

I remember turning purple with embarrassment after learning the valuable lesson about having the beaters down in the bowl before turning them on, not turning them on and then putting them in the bowl.

I remember falling in love with the sound of chocolate chips being poured into a metal bowl. Feeling proud as I put big scoops of dough on the cookie sheet, one by one. Feeling scared as I opened the hot oven and slid the cookies inside, and again when I carefully reached in and took them out. Feeling anxious and excited as I watched the balls of dough puff up and brown perfectly, just as I'd known they would do.

And then feeling disappointed when my cookies weren't perfect once they'd cooled.

A roller coaster of feelings, all from making some cookies.

That didn't stop me from falling in love with baking. I baked cookies, breads, and muffins for my family and friends consistently through school, then baked cookie bars and cakes and all kinds of goodies for my college roommates. It was soothing - both the process of preparing and baking and the act of consuming something straight out of the oven that I made myself.

Then came the Celiac diagnosis.

An entirely new food-related roller coaster of emotion followed. At first, relief that someone finally found what had been making me ill for years. Then came panic. As soon as the realization came that I wouldn't be able to bake (or cook) some of my favorite recipes, I felt as if the floor had dropped out from underneath me. For a while, I ate nothing but frozen gluten-free meals, salads, and sandwiches on horrifically bad rice bread, terrified to start over.

And then I got sick of eating cardboard-flavored bread and burning my hands on microwave meals.

I remember going to Central Market for the millionth time, only this time looking for gluten-free bread mix (playing it safe and easy) rather than frozen loaves. I remember feeling completely and utterly overwhelmed staring at the numerous mixes, trying to decide which one I wanted to take a chance on. Feeling excited once I made my purchase (Bob's Red Mill Hearty Whole Grain Bread Mix) and feeling thrilled when I pulled out the bread machine we registered for and finding out that it had a gluten-free cycle. Feeling exhilarated as the bread baked, and as I took the loaf out of the machine to find that it looked, smelled, and tasted like real bread. A feeling of hope.

That feeling still carries me through gluten-free baking experiments that turn out inedible and the frustration of undercooked pasta and entirely-too-crumbly-to-the-point-of-dissolving muffins. To keep trying new things until I figure out what I like the best and what works the best for me. It's what gets me through non-food-related frustrations. It's what made me start this blog.

Life lessons through cooking. A novel idea. I like it.

You Know What's Gluten-Free? FRIENDS.

I had what one might call an awkward childhood/adolescence, filled with (but absolutely not limited to) the following:

• Being entirely too obnoxious precocious.
• Being the fat kid.
• Being the precocious fat kid.
• Having issues with being the fat kid, not eating, then being the super-skinny weird girl that didn't eat.
• Being born with incredibly thin hair that my mother permed, thus resembling a poodle during my formative years.
• Having two front teeth the size of chiclets (literally), plus an all-kinds-of-jacked-up-grill that required close to four years in braces.
• Getting those braces (and matching HEADGEAR) on -- and for -- my birthday. No I'm not kidding.
• After getting rid of the braces, being tormented by hellacious acne.
• Being the skinny girl with the enormous feet. Yes, it looked like I had skis attached to my ankles.

What that boils down to is being made fun of relentlessly, taking it personally (now it's hilarious, of course), and having very few friends.

But, the friends I did have were fiercely loyal and supportive.

You can imagine that my small social circle made going off to college and meeting people difficult. So I drank a lot to put myself at ease (that's a whole other story) and made some friends. Which ended up being a small circle again.

Then I graduated, got married, and moved to a place where I knew no one. I got involved with the community, and made yet another small circle of friends.

These small circles from all walks of life thus far are filled with some of the best friends a girl could ask for. I consider myself lucky to have many acquaintances (that I love spending time with) and a (large) handful of really great friends.

Last night I met up with a couple of my girlfriends to catch up over a glass of wine (I'm seeing a theme here...). One of them just had a baby, and of course I jumped at the opportunity to see her as soon as said she needed to get out of the house. The three of us ended up spending two hours talking about the "joys" of new motherhood, recent promotions and job stresses, and anything else that happened to come up. I love that.

One of my college roommate's (and best friend's) birthday is on Sunday, and I'm absolutely thrilled to get to see her and another great friend over brunch and hours of girl time and nonsense.

In the next few months, I'm going to Vegas with friends, the Bahamas with friends, and tons of happy hours and summer get-togethers with friends.

Most importantly, I'm married to my best-best-best friend. He makes me happy EVERY day. We have already had adventures (and mis-adventures), and we will continue to have them for the rest of our life together. With him, LIFE is an adventure.

So, what is the point of all this?

First, to express gratitude. I am so very thankful for my friends. They support me, encourage me, and keep me going.

Second, and relevant to this blog (see - there's a point!), is the friendly reminder that there are so many more important and meaningful things in life that don't revolve around having a "different" diet. Yes, eating at restaurants is awkward, having people over is awkward, going to people's houses is awkward, and life in general is a little awkward. BUT...having great people and friends in your life makes that not matter. They make it fun. And they make it MUCH easier to laugh when the gluten-free bread you try to bake ends up disgusting.

Without my friends and Hubby, going gluten-free would have been so much harder. I am so incredibly lucky.

And now, I have NEW friends - YOU!

Kelly

Weekend Warrior

It has been SO amazing to have two weekends in a row where The Hubby and I had absolutely no commitments. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing friends and and going places and doing fun things, but there's just something so sweet about laying around guilt-free. The past three years I was in school, so there was always a looming guilt cloud hovering above my head every time I wanted to be lazy. There were always articles to be read, papers to write, research to be done, and homework to finish. Even between semesters, I was constantly aware that I should probably be doing something productive like cleaning out closets (still needs to be done, but it will be there tomorrow) while I had the time before school started up again. No more! Doing whatever the hell I want to is so incredibly freeing.

This weekend, The Hubby and I perfected the art of doing nothing...except in the food department.

Friday night, we tried out a new local chain of pizza cafes, Palio's Pizza. Apparently these have been around for a few years, but the one in our area recently opened. It's literally 5 minutes from our house, and they offer gluten-free pizza! One of my friends visited there last week and told me about it immediately, probably because they have this sign all over their restaurant:

The place itself is nothing fancy; it's sandwiched between Starbucks and a yogurt cafe in a generic-looking shopping center, and I probably would have driven right past it had it not come recommended. Inside, you order at a counter, take a number, and wait for your pizza to be delivered to your table. (Side note: one great thing about being gluten-free while The Hubby isn't: I usually get my very own pizza. Yesssss.) It's also BYOB, which is an added bonus! The pizza is cheaper than the gluten-free pizzas at national chains (Uno and Boston's), and they don't charge extra for the special crust. It was crispy and chewy, full of flavor, and absolutely delicious. Mine was the "Classic" - roasted chicken, garlic, tomato, basil, and mozzarella. I refuse to take pictures of my food while sitting in a restaurant, but I took a quick pic with my phone yesterday afternoon as I was about to devour the leftovers.

See? Amazing. I can't wait to go back.

After annihilating my leftover pizza and watching some college baseball with The Hubby, I decided to bake. As I mentioned in this previous post, Gluten Free Pantry sent me some awesome samples, and I wanted to try the Chocolate Chip Cookie and Cake Mix next. Feeling a little snazzy, I decided to make both cupcakes and cake balls out of the mix. Yum yum yum. I'll post details about both in a future post, a review of the product in general. Until then, here's a little sneak peek (shown iced with a little bit of Cherrybrook Kitchen Allergy-Free Vanilla Frosting):

Sunday morning, The Hubby and I both woke up with nasty colds. I hate it when we're both sick at the same time. It took me a while to get up and moving, but after a cup of coffee I decided I was going to make myself an omelet. Sounds innocent enough...except for the fact that the last time I tried to make an omelet it ended up as a scramble. I had some leftover (cooked) gluten-free chicken sausage from Memorial Day weekend that I chopped up and threw in...

...as well as some pre-shredded cheddar cheese and half of a tomato that happened to be living in my fridge. The end result was enormous (I had so much 'stuff' I wanted to put in it that I used three eggs), but surprisingly tasty!

Sidenote: Please disregard the darkness of this picture. I promise the outside wasn't burned. I just bought a new camera (finally splurged on the DSLR) and the two of us (as in me and the camera) are having issues. I'm taking a class next weekend, so hopefully picture quality will improve!

On another note, I may or may not have eaten a total of four cake balls yesterday. 

All in all, a great, lazy weekend (other than the colds). 

Until next time,

Kelly

You know what's gluten-free? WINE.

Welcome to the first of weekly posts about the randomness that is my life. Wondering what in the world I'm talking about? Check this out.

It's Wednesday (okay, technically it's actually Tuesday, but I'm posting this on Wednesday...and I'm just so excited...so cut me some slack, okay?)...and you know what's gluten-free? WINE.

Currently enjoying: Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio
(Bad picture - sorry!)

I've always loved wine. I first discovered it in college...granted, it was in a box and very pink, but it was wine nonetheless. Since then, I've learned a lot about wine, and continue to learn with every bottle I buy and every glass I order - which is always a challenge and so much fun!

Here's the amazing thing though: since going gluten-free, my palate has gotten remarkably stronger. I can taste little intricacies of wine that I never thought I would be able to taste. I can differentiate the characteristics that make me like a wine and what makes me dislike a wine. Before, I could just tell I didn't like the taste. Now, I can delineate exactly why and then choose a better variety for my taste. One of the many unexpected benefits of a gluten-free diet!

My personal goal when trying new wine is always to find great, inexpensive bottles that I would be proud to serve to guests. Some are complete misses and taste like cough syrup...but others are surprising, and that's a big part of what makes it fun.

I love pairing food and wine - even with my limited knowledge. I love enjoying a glass with The Hubby after work. I love having girl talk over a couple of glasses of wine. And I love finding a good bottle under $20 to add to the rotation at home.

I will leave you with a wine suggestion. Take it or leave it. I absolutely LOVE Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc in the summer. It's a light, fruity, refreshing wine with tons of citrus (mostly grapefruit) notes, and you can pick up a bottle at Target (or a similar grocery store) for about $15. I've found it as cheap as $10. It's wonderful!

Cheers!
Kelly