Summertime, and the livin' is easy...

If you're prepared.

Well friends, this year's family picnic marked the one year point in my gluten free journey. Last year at this time, I was thinking along the lines that cutting most of the gluten from my diet would alleviate symptoms of several conditions with which I was struggling. I hadn't yet realized that the gluten was not simply exacerbating those problems, but rather causing them in the first place.

Thinking as such, I headed to the 2009 Turner Family Picnic with the idea that I had been so good about cutting out gluten for the whole week that I could go ahead and have some of the delicious baked goods my cousins and aunt passed around. I ate fried chicken brought by another aunt, dutifully stripped of it's coating and skin, but with no regard for the fact that this did not at all guard against cross contamination. I gleefully consumed brownies, cookies, sweet breads and the like, all the while praising myself for my restraint the entire week leading up to this day which allowed me to enjoy these treats.

That evening and for several days to come, I saw the consequences of my error in judgement in the form of stomach cramps, a resurgence of the psoriasis on my knees, a flare up of the acne like condition on my cheeks, sluggishness and many other symptoms I which had been miraculously absent from my life the week before. That day, I promised myself I would never again knowingly cause myself to feel that way.

It's been a year, full of learning and making mistakes, trying new foods and discovering some truly wonderful, naturally gluten free foods, which I might not otherwise have tasted. In the past year, the one lesson most important in my life is one the Boy Scouts have been telling us all along. Always be prepared.

Whether I'm planning ahead for a quick and easy dinner after a late day of work or class, or packing for a family gathering, preparation remains the key element to a successful, low stress day. With that in mind, I began preparing for today's picnic yesterday. I baked Betty Crocker gluten free chocolate chips (add in a little guar or xanthan gum for better consistency) and cornstarch brownies. I cooked the rice pasta salad from my Lil's gift bag, and I took out chicken burgers and OMG's burger buns from the freezer. Before leaving this morning, I wrapped each burger and each bun in a foil package so they could be cooked on the grill beside everyone else's food.

After explaining to my cousin why I needed my food to remain in the foil, and knowing that everything else was ready, I had the easiest day in a whole year. How amazing it felt heading into the meal knowing that I would not need to fill up on chips or cheese to hold me over until I got home (I've done that on less prepared days). When the food was ready and we all gathered in prayer, I offered my own silent gratitude for the gift of foresight, which made the entire day a breeze.

I made a meal of chicken/Swiss cheese/honey mustard burgers on gf buns, pasta salad with corn and black beans, and potato chips, with a dessert of cookies and brownies which matched those being passed around by the wheat eaters.

The simple joy of planning ahead allowed me to enjoy my family, the nice weather, and a delicious outdoor meal. Now, if only the mosquitoes hadn't taken advantage of all those things...

OMG, What a treat!

I've mentioned OMG It's Gluten Free Café in earlier posts, but I don't think I've ever really told you anything about this great place. They're located at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Vollmer Road in the Harlem Crossing plaza in Frankfort, IL, at 19810 S. Harlem Avenue.

They opened for business back in March, but just had an official Grand Opening Celebration today. The owner, Julie Scianna, like a lot of Celiac patients, diagnosed herself after lots of problems, several false diagnoses, and plenty of unnecessary worry. After starting up a gluten free cooking club with some friends, she and the chef, Andrew (A.J.) Hebda, started creating quality, flavorful food that people actually would enjoy eating, and a local restaurateur encouraged them to start up a business.

This place is amazing. It's a small store front café with a handful of tables for dining in. Besides bakery items such as cookies, brownies, scones, muffins, and cupcakes, they have several enticing lunch and dinner options. The pizza is crisp, lasagna perfectly layered, chicken parmigiana crusted in their own breadcrumbs and for the kids (of those of us who like to eat like kids), chicken fingers and grilled cheese are sure to please.

When my Celiac Support Group met here a month or so ago, one member made the comment that it was so strange to just know that all your food was safe. She had to remind herself that that the salad she ordered, which arrived at her table with croutons made from their baked in store bread, was not a danger to her health. The delicious food is just that much better for the knowledge that nothing in the whole café has ever come anywhere near a cross contaminant. No wheat flour has ever been measured with their measuring cups, mixed with their mixer, baked in their oven or even passed through the doors.

My mother joined me at the Grand Opening where she enjoyed samples of a blueberry muffin, white chocolate chip cookie and brownie. She prefers cake brownies, so the mouthwatering fudgy brownie was not to her taste, but the cookie and muffin made a great impression. An prize wheel was set up outside the store for prizes such as product discounts. I won a BOGO on pizza, and Mom won a date with the chef! Of course, they hadn't told A.J. they were using that particular prize, so I'm not sure how that would even work out.

All told, Mom and I left with a 1lb. bag of granola, a dozen assorted cookies, two 14 inch cheese pizza (frozen), a lemon poppyseed scone, a vanilla cupcake and a pecan roll. The last three were fresh from the bakery case, one of each of us, Mom, Dad and me. I shared a little of my cupcake with each of them, and Dad, one my toughest food critics, raved about it. Mom fell in love with the pecan roll, which she generously shared with Dad, and even gave me a taste. She wants to go back to OMG for more, and she doesn't even follow a GF diet! The scone rests in its box, awaiting our first taste, which I'm sure will not disappoint.

That's the way the cookie crumbles

Last night I attended the June meeting of the Celiac Support Group for the south suburbs. We meet once a month on a Tuesday to discuss events, food, products and issues related to eating and living gluten free.

Recently, the meetings have been held at varying locations. P.F. Chang's, OMG It's Gluten Free, and last night, Lil's Dietary Shop Lil's is in a plaza on 111th, west of Western Ave, in Chicago's Beverly neighborhood. Although a bit of a drive from my south suburban home, the trip was well worth the ride. Marcie, the owner, stocks an entire shop full of a large and diverse quantity of of gluten free products, as well as a new expansion which contains products for other special dietary needs. Between the gift bags which Marcie provided to everyone in attendance, the free raffle items, and those which I purchased, I went home with quite a haul.

At the end of the night, a theme seemed to have appeared. Cookies. One of the items in my gift bag was a box of peanut butter cookies by Tree of Life. Once home, I was talked into opening the box and trying one, by my peanut butter loving, wheat eating father. Weighing my opinion against other products I've tried, I reached into the package and pulled out two cookies. Dad and I each bit into one of the crisp cookies and savored the full, yet not overpowering, taste of peanut butter. These cookies do have a bit of what I refer to as the "gluten free grit," that somewhat grainy texture that can sometimes make you fell as if you've eaten a spoonful of sand, but with this type of cookie, it somehow doesn't detract from the experience. Perhaps the memory of Pecan Sandies aligned my brain to a positive association between grit and nut cookies, but for whatever reason, they worked.

During the meeting, Marcie provided us with some fantastic samples straight off the shelves. The group favorite, a coconut macaroon by Mrs. Crimble's, was indeed an AMAZING treat. So good in fact, that I had to buy some :) These smooth and chewy cookies have the strong flavor of toasted coconuts and dreamy chocolate of a certain type of cookies sold by young girls all across the country, but way, WAY better. Now the only problems is that, with only six in a package, I'm afraid if I open them, I'll eat them all!

Besides the peanut butter cookie, I also tried some cinnamon thins, which my parent's picked up at... (drumroll..) STARBUCK'S! For those of you unfamiliar with the plight of the Celiac at Starbuck's, let me fill you in. Last summer, only two month's after its introduction, Starbuck's removed from their shelves the one and only gluten free baked good, an orange cake which was supposed to have been delicious. I say "supposed to have been," because I never had the opportunity to try it. Problems with limited demand and short shelf life caused the company to abandon the idea rather than work out a solution. Personally, I would have frozen the cakes, put a note in the display case to say they were available, and served them warm from the microwave. Anyhow, back to the cookies. My beloved snickerdoodles need not be far from my taste memory with these on the market. Lucy's has managed to create a crisp but buttery cookie, without the gluten free grit, which taste so good, wheat eaters and gf diners alike will love them. Oh, and for those with additional dietary restrictions, Lucy's cookies are also milk, egg, peanut, and tree nut free as well as vegan!

All told, it was a good day for the discovery of quality premade cookies. Now, if I could just call up the courage to buy various flours and make my own...