A Gluten Free One-Two Punch: Lasagne and Macarons!

Gluten Free Lasagne from Cibo e Beve restaurant in North Atlanta area.  Bolognese, ricotta.  Pretty good.  I'd order it again.

The frozen mini-macarons I buy at Trader Joe's.  Chocolate & vanilla, so yum!

Macaron Queen at kiosk in Lenox Square Mall in Buckhead area of Atlanta.  Excellent and made with almond flour!  

Once a month, my Marine gets home early (6PM).  And, like tonight, he promptly fell asleep as soon as he sat down to pet the cat.   I "accidentally" woke him up 15 minutes later and we went out to dinner at a place I've been wanting to try.  I found it on the "Find Me Gluten Free" app.  I review LOTS of restaurants on this app, which is the reason I rarely do restaurant reviews on my blog anymore.

Anyway, we did not have a reservation but were easily seated outside on the patio near the parking lot. Buckhead is full of parking lots and garages, so not so shocking.  Anyway, the service was friendly and knowledgeable.  There was no gluten free menu, but the server and hostess (as well as the app) recommended the lasagne, and so my arm was twisted.  I had an aperitif of Moscow Mule (Oprah's favorite drink) made with ginger beer and vodka, obviously of the gluten free varieties, and served in a chilled copper mug.  The drink had a slush inside and was not full very full for $10, in my opinion, but it was good.  The best one I ever had was in a posh sports bar in Chicago, but alas, Oprah probably goes there.

Moscow Mule in chilled copper mug just like Oprah makes.

The lasagne was tasty.  The sauce was very tomato-y and I could taste a meaty, bolognese flavor.  The cheese noodles, however, were the texture of tofu.  All in all, it was good and I'll go back again.  I forgot to bring along a piece of bread (Against the Grain baguette, anyone?), but next time I shall.

Afterwards, I wanted to hop over to Lenox Square Mall to test out the real French Macarons at Macaron Queen (a chain?) in a kiosk there.  It seemed a bit disorganized, with an abundance of flavors randomly mixed in bags of 3, 5, and 8.  I bought a bag of 8 but had no idea which 8 flavors would be in there.  After taking a bite of each one (classy, I know), there was a red one with a white and red cherry filling, a mango or fruity something that had a swirl of red on the orange color, a brown sugar or burnt caramel flavor, a white super-sweet one, a pink, and a yellow lemony one and...
My 3 faves were:  a green one (pistachio?) with lemon filling, a red one with white filling (red velvet?), and a beige one (caramel?) with crystal sugar sprinkles on top.

The most exquisite French Macaron I've ever had...it was at Epcot's French Cafe in  Disney.

Did you know real French macarons are made with almond flour (not wheat flour) so they are naturally gluten free as long as nobody cross-contaminates them?  Same with real chocolate mousse, creme brulee, real hot water corn bread, etc.  Like many French confections, they are difficult to make.  I've tried.  The pastry chef on YouTube said it took her a few tries to get macarons right.  The trick is to get the "feet" on the bottom (it looks like dried foam) and have them be slightly puffy and crisp on the outside and soft on the inside with a small amount of cream in between, Oreo style.  The Macaron Queens passed the test.  However, my all-time favorite French Macaron is from Epcot at Disney.  Ahhh-mazing!  Exquisite!

23 Easy Gluten Free Easter Foods to Make, Thaw, Bake, or Buy

4 ingredient, naturally gluten free Easter egg nests from Allrecipes.  Photo from SarahisWright

Having 9 years of Gluten Free EASTER experience, let me brainstorm a list of gluten free Easter foods you can make so you can indulge and enjoy just as much or more than the gluten eaters out there:

Sit egg vertically to cut lid off zig zag style.  Chill filling before stuffing egg whites.Use chunks of black olive for eyes, carrot for nose.

• Make your own "cadbury" eggs with recipe here.  Get Lyle's syrup at CostPlus World Market or substitute with white corn syrup 
• Gluten Free cupcakes see photo here.  Also decorate with pastel icing or get creative with piping bags.  I use Betty Crocker gluten free cake mixes.
• Deviled Egg Chicks (see photo above).  If you chill the filling, you can skip using a piping bag to stuff the egg whites.  I like to use an apple corer or small knife to make a zig zag shape on the egg whites to make it look more like a broken eggshell.  Add horseradish or apple cider vinegar to filling for a kick of flavor.  *beware of the mayonnaise!  The container of mayo must be gluten free/new and not shared by knives that have been used on gluten-containing bread or other products.  No crumb contamination! 

• Candy:  Peeps, most Cadbury candy, M&Ms, jelly beans, etc.  Beware of certain chocolates (like Lindt) that contain gluten.  There are many searchable web lists.
• Chilled Baby Shrimp pasta salad.  Just substitute gluten free pasta like tinkyada or DeBoles. 

•  Shrimp and Cocktail Sauce
• Blue Almond crackers with cheese (I like Brie)
• Crudite (veggie plate).  My mom got me a gluten free spice mix at a festival that you mix with yogurt to make a dip.  You could make dill dip with gluten free ingredients. 

•  Oven-baked Cinnamon tortilla chips with fruit salsa.  Use Rudi's gluten free tortillas or corn tortillas that are gf.  5 Star-rated recipe here  See the tropical avocado salsa I made here
•  Egg nests (4 ingredients, naturally gluten free, use Cadbury eggs to fill)
• Egg in the nest (fried egg in bread hole) (using gluten free sandwich bread)
• Mini tea sandwiches.  Use gf bread, cut with metal cookie cutter for cute shapes.  Use Hormel gluten free ham with no nitrates or Hormel turkey or Boar's Head meats and cheeses or gluten free tuna (no broths in can). I use the gold can of Bumble Bee tuna with all white tuna in water.

I MADE THIS!  For $12 I bought the watering can (Michael's craft store) and fruit and one large metal sturdy flower-shaped cookie cutter (Michael's) and I used lettuce and ribbon to garnish/decorate.  Partygoers thought I bought it for $40-$60!

Gluten free frozen French Macaron mini cookies (chocolate & vanilla) from Trader Joe's.  Thaw 30 min on counter.

Soft gluten free pretzels.  Microve a few seconds.

I love this XO Double Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe.

•  Chex mix (use gluten free ingredients)
• Rice Krispies bars (use gf cereal like Cocoa Pebbles, Strawberry Chex, etc.) 

•  Trader Joe's has gluten free frozen French Macarons (pic above) that I judge gluten free.  They are adorable pastel tasty bundles.  They are very difficult to make from scratch.
• Chocolate Mousse is naturally gluten free when made the traditional way
• Merengue Cookies (my mother calls it divinity).  It's mostly egg whites and sugar.  

•  Wrap chunks of gluten free  (dairy free) goat cheese or pineapple in prociutto and secure with toothpicks for their own handles.
• peanut butter blosssom cookies- just substitute for gluten free flour blend

•  Betty Crocker gluten free sugar cookies mix (I haven't tried this yet)
•  fruit kabobs or fruit "flower" arrangement.  I made mine from youtube video (see pic above)
•  Gluten free XO double chocolate chip cookies (pic of box above) I made these and they are my new favorites!  Soft, chewy texture, not crumbly at all & yum
• Whole Foods carries the microwaveable SOFT gluten free pretzels (pic above) that I dip in honey or frosting
• Gluten Free ice cream cones filled with...cupcake batter & baked or just gelato, fro yo or ice cream 

•  Chocolate-dipped fruit

*DRINKS-  I love to MUDDLE (mash up fruit, bonus if you use a mortar & pestle) drinks.  I web search for knockoff recipes of alcoholic or virgin versions of the muddled limeades, lemonades, and other spritzy springy drinks at Ruby Tuesday's and P.F. Chang's!  Think Watermelon Lime, or lemon with basil, mango lemonade, raspberry lime, pineapple cherry.

*ALSO try Gluten Free versions of other traditional Easter dishes at Linda's blog.

Friday Flashback: My Week in a [gluten free] Nutshell

A Leg Up!  
I was surprised to receive an email from one of my fabulous Zen Doodle students stating that Hobby Lobby was looking for people to teach classes like mine.  They asked her if she'd do it and she told me about it.  I literally jumped in the car and twenty minutes later, I was booked to teach every Saturday at the Dunwoody, GA, location!  I love it when women make the effort to give one another a leg up!

I teach Zen Doodle art class every Saturday at Hobby Lobby in Dunwoody, GA!

A Couple Gigs
Although I didn't submit for gigs this week, I was called and asked to work as an extra again on Vampire Diaries (I'll post pics after it airs if I don't end up on cutting room floor) and one I haven't done before, Devious Maids, for my car and myself.  Beautiful weather, chatting with fun people, interesting sets, earning cash, what's not to like?

A Windy Day
I love to fly kites.  It's one of the few fond memories I have of quality time with my father.  He'd buy kites and take us to a park.  I also enjoy flying kites at the beach.  We sent one way up high and tied it to our beach chair at Tybee Island.  I even kept a kite in my classroom and would take it out at recess on windy days.  You'd be surprised how many kids haven't flown kites.  As a parole officer, I bought a bunch of kites at a dollar store and put them in the trunk of my work car and handed them out one day to kids wandering around doing nothing, as well as children of my parolees.  We went to the park down the street Sunday and saw a couple novel activities:  kids ascending and descending on ropes in trees and people doing Live Action Role Play, beating each other with foam swords.

Kids literally hanging around at the park

Foam sword and shields.  Live Action Role Play, aka LARP

A Bit of Sweat
I looked up a local hiking group and joined them (retirees and teachers on spring break) for a five mile, two hour, often vertical like a StairMaster, hike with a rewarding view at the top of Lake Alatoona.  It's been nice weather and I also enjoyed the drive with the convertible top down.  The pollen count has since skyrocketed here, so not sure if I'll be doing that this week!  I also jogged 4 miles at the indoor track at my gym (easier on the joints) and attended my favorite Flirty Girl class that culminates in a dance routine to "Timber".  I plan to go to the intense circuit class today (last time I swam before the class so I only made it through 45 minutes) and the swim class and weights tomorrow morning.

I read the label and find these to be gluten free.  I eat them and do not get sick.  

A Plateful of Gluten Free Goodness
My latest favorite gluten free dessert (great to bring to parties, I brought them to the clothing swap) is frozen macarons at Trader Joe's.  Just thaw 30 minutes.  Remember, real French macarons are made with almond flour, and if there is no cross-contamination or wheat flour used to dust the pans, for example, they are naturally gluten free.  So is authentic chocolate mousse, although restaurants often muck it up with wheat flour or other monstrosities, ruining it for us gfreeple.  Yes, I have attempted to make real macarons myself.  Don't ask how that turned out.  When the chef on YouTube admits it took her three tries to get them right....

A Clothing Swap...and a dress with a story
A women's social group had a clothing swap.  It rained, so the turnout wasn't big (6 people with items laid out on tables at an indoor activity room at a park).  Nobody was even near my size, but I did get a couple purses.

I donate to Goodwill regularly (all my clothes came from there as a child), so I had set aside nicer quality items.   Some dresses and gowns I used to donate to The Giving of the Gowns (before I found out they don't check military IDs and all our E-6 wives told me they regularly take gowns from there- when they are intended for the youngest, lowest-earning military women and wives so they can attend the USMC Birthday Ball every November).  I also brought name-brand handbags that, if not swapped, I would attempt to place on consignment.

The Beyonce Dress

One lady was healing from a recent tummy tuck and breast lift so she took my Beyonce dress, lol!  The Beyonce dress is a sparkly, backless number that I wore to The Montford Point Marines banquet  where, unbeknownst to me, General Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, was in attendance.  He does not come every year, and it was right after we arrived in Atlanta so I'd never been before, but if I had been shown the invitation I would have realized that he was giving out belated Congressional Medals to honor the first black marines who trained at a segregated boot camp with white drill instructors at Montford Point.  It was a privilege to witness the medals being placed around the necks of these men who have lived through so much.  The Silent Drill Platoon performed (and dropped a rifle again-it's extra fun when they drop one), we met General Amos and Mrs. Amos, but I will never forget what an inappropriate frock I was wearing.  I would NEVER have worn such a flashy and ostentatious number if I had seen the invite and known what the event was really about.  I was just told it was a dinner and dancing.

Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Amos

Congressional Medal Recipients