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Gluten-Free Valentines Day Dinner

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You can be Gluten-Free and have food allergies and still have a magnificent meal!  Many people go out for dinner on Valentine’s Day.  I actually prefer to eat at home where I can make a fabulous meal that is safe for me to eat at a fraction of the price we would pay at a restaurant.

We had a scrumptious Valentine’s Day Dinner last night.  We had Cornish Game Hens, Asparagus and Brown Rice.  Here is the recipe for anyone who is interested.

Cornish Game Hens

I prefer to buy fresh cornish game hens.  I had to ask the meat department of our grocery store for them as they were not out on the shelves, and I did not want to buy frozen hens.

  • Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and put the hens in the dish on their breasts, with backs facing up.
  • Rub the hens with olive oil
  • Place hens on breasts and season with your favorite herbs.
  • Turn hens onto their backs and do the same.  Make sure you spread the seasoning onto the sides of the bird’s so that you cover their wings and legs with seasoning.
  • For seasoning I used: a little seasoned salt, a little paprika and herbes de provence (which is a mixture of herbs that includes rosemary, oregano, basil and thyme).
  • Cut up an onion and fill the cavities of the birds with the onion
  • Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the hens.

Brown Rice – When the hens have approximately 45 minutes to go, start on the brown rice.

  • Put a cup of rice into a pot
  • Add in water to cover the rice approximately 1/2 inch.
  • Boil the water, then set the stovetop to simmer.
  • Cover the rice and simmer for about 40 minutes.
  • Check frequently and add enough water if needed to prevent burning.

Asparagus

Start the asparagus approximately 10 minutes before the meal is ready.

  • Wash and cut off ends of the asparagus.
  • Fill a pan with enough water to cover the asparagus.
  • Bring water to a boil and put the asparagus into the water.
  • Cover the pan and cook on medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.  Cook less for a more crunchy asparagus.
  • Drain and serve plain or with a little butter or margarine to taste.

You can spoon the drippings from the juice of the hens and the olive oil onto the birds, the rice and the asparagus.  So so delicious! I never eat the whole bird, so I am having the rest of it for lunch today.  Can’t wait!

Valentine's Day Dinner

DELICIOUS HOMEMADE VALENTINE’S DAY COOKIES – GLUTEN-FREE, PEANUT-FREE, ALLERGY-SENSITIVE

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Here’s my very simple recipe for making your own Valentine’s Day cookies using my Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough.  Our cookie dough is mixed and ready to go.  You don’t have to measure anything out – no mixing, no mess, just great cookies!

What you’ll need:  Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough, gluten-free flour (I use rice flour), rolling pin, heart shaped cookie cutters, parchment paper, baking pan.

Step 1 – Thaw the cookie dough by taking it out of the freezer and putting it in the refrigerator for several hours, or putting it on the counter until soft enough to handle (generally about an hour).

Step 2 – Spread some rice flour onto a flat surface and roll the cookie dough in the flour.  I use a large cutting board.  Add a little more flour at a time as needed to prevent sticking. Don’t overdo the flour or the cookie dough will become too dry and hard to handle.

Step 3 – Roll out the cookie dough to your desired thickness.  I usually make it about 1/4 or 1/2 inch thick.

Step 4 – Take your cookie cutters and cut out your favorite shapes.

Step 5 – Place the cut out cookie dough onto a parchment-lined baking pan.

Step 6 – Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes depending on the size of the cookies and how soft or crispy you would like them to be.  Less cooking time will result in softer cookies.

Step 7 – Let the cookies cool on a cooling rack.  Eat them plain for a delicious shortbread taste or decorate with your favorite (homemade) frosting and other edible decorations.

Notes:  There are so many creative ways to make your own cookies.  Here are a few ideas:

  • add food coloring to the dough itself before baking or to the frosting.
  • frost and decorate with sprinkles, colored sugar, etc.
  • melt chocolate and dip the cookies in chocolate.  refrigerate and eat.
  • make sandwich cookies – just put frosting on one cookie and top it with another cookie.  refrigerate and eat.
  • make ice cream sandwich cookies – scoop ice cream on one cookie and top it with another cookie. freeze and eat.

Create your own special cookies and send us your recipes so that we can share them with others!

Sensational Sugar Cookie Dough

 

Heart Shaped Cookie Cutter Cookies Ready Bake

Baked Heart Shaped Sugar Cookies

Restaurant Review: Peacefood Cafe, New York City

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I had a lunch meeting today with Allison and Annie at the Peacefood Cafe on Amsterdam and 83rd Street in NYC.  It is a vegan cafe that has a great selection of baked goods, drinks, salads, soups, raw foods and cooked entrees.  Some of these are gluten-free, all are made without any meats, dairy or eggs.

The restaurant is deceivingly long with a front room and a back room, a counter and a sitting area for people who order take out, of which there were many.  They have a sign up that says that due to the number of people who come for lunch that laptops are not allowed b/w the hours of 12:00 – 3:00.  Apparently people come and hang out for long periods of time with their laptops, and it’s easy to see why.  It’s a bright and open and welcoming space.

When you walk in there is a nice round table in the corner by the window which we grabbed. It can comfortably sit 4 people and being by the window had great sun.  Unfortunately it go so hot between the sun and the heat in the restaurant that eventually we had to move to the back of the restaurant.

Overall my experience was great with one little glitch that I will get to later.  We started with fried chickpea “fries” which looked more like little rectangle potato cakes than fries.  They are fried in canola oil so I was able to eat them.  They have a little tang and a little punch to them. Very yummy.

Then we moved on to butternut squash soup, which is one of my favorites.  It also had sweet potato and a few other veggies in it, and thankfully no dairy or gluten in it as most soups do, so I could eat it.  We all agreed it was delicious.  We also got fruit smoothies (again no dairy) made with green vegies and fruit.  After the hot soup in the hot sun and the hot radiator we were melting and moved to the back of the restaurant.

Once we cooled down we realized we were too full to eat a meal, so we ordered desserts.  That’s when the fun started for me.  The waitress we had at the front of the restaurant was very attentive and very tuned in to food allergies.  She checked all of the ingredients for everything I ordered and was able to tell me what was in all of the dishes, what I could and could not eat.  Really extraordinary.

The waitress in the back of the restaurant was not so tuned in nor did she seem to understand the seriousness of food allergies.  To her credit, each time I asked her to tell me what was in a dish she did go back to check, which was great, but she would come back and tell me only that ‘it was safe for me to eat’.   Although I explained that and why I needed to know what all of the ingredients were,  each time she would come back with the same answer, ‘it’s safe for you to eat’.  She assured me that there was no gluten, soy, nuts or peanuts in the  gluten-free pumpkin spice cake and that is what I ordered.

It arrived looking like a thick, moist slice of a pumpkin tea bread with a frosting on it.  When I asked her what was in the frosting she seemed annoyed, said she did not know and she would check after she took care of other tables.  Ok, so now I was getting frustrated.  I decided to start eating the cake and avoid the frosting until she returned.  After a couple of bites the owner came by and told me he wasn’t sure what was in the cake, but he was pretty sure there were walnuts.  Ok, then . . . so I had to literally spit out the cake in my mouth and decide what to do . . . b/c if there were walnuts in it I was in trouble.  He said he would check and I told him that I had specifically asked for, and not received, the ingredients.  A few minutes later he came back with the recipe and showed it to me.  Phew . . . no walnuts thank goodness!  But he did not check on the frosting and had to go back yet again.  It turns out that it was fine and I could finish the piece of cake, which, by the way, was delicious.

So overall it was a  good experience.  The food and drinks are really good.  The waitress in the front really “got it” and the owner (Jeff) was helpful although he did not know the ingredients.  The waitress in the back did not get it.  She was ultimately right about the food, but she was annoyed at having to deal with my questions, and frankly I don’t have the patience or the comfort to deal with this type of server.

Would I go back?  Yes, absolutely, and next time I will sit in the front section but not by the window.