Happy Fall! Soup is served!

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Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste

I’m home safe from Portland (barely!) I considered ranting to you about the bad luck streak I’ve had this last week before and ON vacation, but I’m going to skip it and get to the good stuff- life is too short and my theory is to be happy anyway! Above is a pic of me visiting Crave Bake Shop in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Crave is a Gluten-Free Bakery- an awesome gem tucked away in the luscious green landscape of Oregon. This place is more than just a bakery: it’s a dedicated Gluten-free bakery who recently WON on Cupcake Wars! One of their winning cupcakes was the chocolate Hazelnut Cupcake… and I sure ate the heck out of that thing. They offer G-free doughnuts, scones, dinner rolls and garlic knots to boot!

This place was obviously on my MUST GO TO list! With my handy iPhone, I find eating G-free in other cities much more tolerable. Traveling is stressful. It’s 10x harder to travel for those with us with food allergies. Anxiety and preoccupation with food takes over our otherwise meant to be relaxing vacations. We worry about where the heck we will or can eat; between other people’s homes, and all the restaurants you’re likely to frequent… the G-free environment is never guaranteed. Not eating gluten does NOT mean you have to feel out of control just because YOU are not making every meal. Here are some traveling tips that I can share that have really helped me keep my worries at bay on the road (However, I am Gluten Sensitive- not a Celiac):

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Gluten-Free Crab Cakes

Ingredients:
1 lb (16oz) cooked Crab Meat (please make sure you use REAL crab meat, imitation crab not only contains gluten, but it’s just plain gross). Trader Joes has a great one.
1/4 c. Scallions or fresh Italian Parsley
2 tbsp Mayo of your choice
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard and 1 tsp Coleman’s powdered Mustard (Coleman’s is GF)
1 egg
1 tsp Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce (yes G-free: Annie’s Organic Worcestershire is NOT G-free)
Hot Sauce (optional)
½ tsp Lemon Juice
1-2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning (yes, GF- more or less to your preference)
2 Tbs-1/4 cup Almond Flour or Gluten-Free bread crumbs (add until stays together)
2 Tbs. Coconut Oil (for frying)

Directions:
1). Combine all ingredients, minus the coconut oil, in a medium size bowl, mix well (Clean hands!) Chill for 2 hours after mixing before cooking for best results
2). In a large frying pan melt the coconut oil over medium high heat. To test if the oil is ready, drop a small amount of crab cake mixture into the oil and if it bubbles around the edges, the oil is ready.
3). Form patties out of the crab mixture and gently add to the hot pan. Cook each crab cake for 2 – 4 minutes per side.
4). Remove crab cakes from pan and drain on a paper towel. Depending on how large you make the patties, you should get 8 – 10 medium-sized crab cakes.
Skinny NOTE: Crab cakes can be broiled for 6-8 minutes each side until brown. Oven baked: Place on buttered sheet pan and bake for 15min at 400 degrees until golden brown.

5) Serve with a dijon dip, tartar sauce, or any creative sauce you’d prefer!

Simple Cobb with Dijon Viaigrette

Tiffany’s Simple Cobb Salad

1 small size chicken breast, cooked (about ½ pound before cooking)
6 large romaine lettuce leaves, chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 avocado, sliced
4 hard boiled eggs, sliced into quarters
8 pieces bacon, cooked to a crisp and crumbled (I prefer crisp turkey bacon! GF and Nitrate free of course)

1. Dice the chicken breast into ½-inch cubes- or slice length wise.
2. Place the lettuce on 4 plates, then top with the chicken breast, tomatoes and avocado
3. Sprinkle bacon crumbles onto each of the 4 individual servings of salad
4. Drizzle dressing over salad
5. Place egg wedges on the outer rim of each plate
6. Serve

Red Wine-Dijon Vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp (or more!) Dijon mustard
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

You can use a dressing shaker or whisk in a bowl or blend.

**I like mine more sour, so feel free to play with the oil to vinegar/lemon ratios.

HISTORY OF THE COBB SALAD:
Did you know the Cobb Salad was created at the Brown Derby Restaurant in Hollywood?

“One night in 1937, Bob Cobb, then owner of The Brown Derby, prowled hungrily in his restaurant’s kitchen for a snack. Opening the huge refrigerator, he pulled out this and that: a head of lettuce, an avocado, some romaine, watercress, tomatoes, some cold breast of chicken, a hard-boiled egg, chives, cheese and some old-fashioned French dressing. He started chopping. Added some crisp bacon — swiped from a busy chef.

“The Cobb salad was born. It was so good, Sid Grauman (Grauman’s Chinese Theatre), who was with Cobb that midnight, asked the next day for a ‘Cobb Salad.’ It was so good that it was put on the menu.

http://kitchenproject.com/history/CobbSalad.htm