My week in photos: the view from here.

As you know, I find joy in the little things in life — like my Christmas Cactus that is taking bloom this week. Everyone in our family got part of the plant from my grandparents’ home, after they had passed away, and I look forward to the blooms every year. (which come just before my grandma’s birthday in March, not at Christmas)

 Have you had the soft pretzels from Molly’s GF Bakery? We heated them in the oven with some Penzeys Pizza Seasoning and dipped them in Mid’s pizza sauce, our new go-to pizza sauce.

We made a big blue pot of chicken noodle soup this week with Jovial Egg Noodles – by far THE best pasta we have tried for soup. Made the soup on Saturday and ate it all this week for lunch. The flavor was enhanced each day and the noodles were firm until the last bowl.

If you are looking for the perfect pasta for soup, try Jovial. (you can read my review of their other noodles here, along with an easy Tuna Noodle recipe) They were kind enough to send pasta samples for everyone at our Gluten-Free Get Together 3rd Anniversary party last month — thanks, Jovial!

Tis the season of citrus! I can’t seem to get enough oranges, grapefruits, and clementines lately. We had a surplus and decided sangria sounded like a solution.

The whole Food section of the Journal Sentinel was a gluten-free feature — and I made the front page! You can see the JSOnline version here. 

The husband was pretty excited. (me too, what an honor!)

I’m trying to incorporate more tea and a little less coffee into my mornings — this was a honey-lemon-ginseng blend, but I’d love to hear what you tea experts are drinking, looking for suggestions.

After using up all the oranges in the sangria, I was out of luck for my New Grist having an orange slice. The husband suggested a lemon, noting that most of the beers I drank pre-GF went with a lemon slice. He was right! (yes, I’m admitting it)

The “giving thanks” jars got a seasonal makeover — any other jelly bean fans out there? It’s my spring weakness. Be sure you get the gluten-free ones. Here is a mini list, waiting on some of the more extensive ones to hit the web this week.

Speaking of giving thanks… we got dumped on with snow last week and I can’t help but feel sorry for the custodians that are out there shoveling, one of the women in our building uses a cane some days, yet was out there breaking her back, so I wanted to do something. I show my gratitude best with food. 

These Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins from Elizabeth Barbone were a hit with the custodians, they were thanking me all week. And now we can all give thanks to Elizabeth, who was willing to share the recipe with you!

When you do make them (and you really should, for Easter maybe, or this week?) take my advice and do a re-sugaring before serving. I also sprinkle cinnamon into the powdered sugar for a twist. 

PS: dry erase markers work well for the ever changing labels on your storage jars.   

Powdered Sugar Doughnut Muffins

       From, ”How to Cook Gluten-Free” by Elizabeth Barbone (Lake Isle Press, 2012)

Dry Ingredients
3/4 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup sweet rice flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking power
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

1 package (1 pound) powdered sugar

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to
350ºF. Lightly grease the cavities of a mini muffin pan with nonstick
cooking spray.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet
ingredients and whisk to combine. The batter will be thin.

3. Fill the muffin cavities about half full. Bake for 20 to 25
minutes, until the muffins are golden brown.

4. While the muffins are baking, fill an 8-inch square baking dish
with the powdered sugar.

5. Remove the muffins from the oven and working in batches, place them
directly into the powdered sugar. Gently roll the muffins in the sugar
to cover them. The steam from the hot muffins will make the sugar
stick to the muffins. Remove the muffins from the sugar and tap off
any excess. Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool. Store in an
airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 1 month.

Makes about 24 muffins. Yield varies depending on pan size. (All mini
muffin pans vary slightly.)

+Sarah’s Notes: I have never used a whole bag of powdered sugar, instead I just put some scoops into the bowl/platter and then keep adding as I need more, but to avoid waste. My mini muffin pans make almost double what the recipe says, but as she points out, muffin tin sizes varies. (and who would complain about more muffins!?!) Try sprinkling cinnamon in the powdered sugar if you love it as much as I do. EnJOY them with a cup of coffee or tea. 

Don’t they have the cutest stickers for your coffee at Stone Creek Coffee? Before Mamasita headed back home, we had a day of errands, including a “coffee break” in the car wash.

Keep calm and enJOY your week!

Friday Photos: the view from here

 

After running around doing errands this afternoon, my mama and I collapsed on the couch this evening and fed our Downton Abbey addiction. We can’t help ourselves.

Mark served us dinner — Sheperd’s Pie —  in front of the TV. We do that sometimes.

********************************************************************************************************************

I blame Mamasita for these. (they’re my Easter fave) She “snuck” them into our cart at Target.

********************************************************************************************************************

I balanced it all out with the Greek Salad and Veggie Chili at City Market in Whitefish Bay.

********************************************************************************************************************

One of our go-to places when my mama visits is Cafe Hollander.

 

They have some new additions to their GF menu.

 

Like this Quinoa Skillet. YUM!

 

I completed it all with a side of bacon. (it was lacking in meat!)

 

But the real reason we go? For the beverages.

********************************************************************************************************************

We may have found a new tradition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anaba Tea Room in Shorewood for a light lunch — the options were limited, but a young lady working in the store said they have more dinner options, so I’ll have to go back to check things out. The Pear Ginger Chicken Salad over greens was a unique twist on one of my top picks for lunch.

Need to rest up for tomorrow — we’re off to the Winter Farmers’ Market in the morning, followed by a trip to Molly’s GF Bakery, and then a visit with my soul sister and her mama. It’s my last full day with my mama. It has been such a treat to have her here this week… coffee in the mornings, a new show we can’t get enough of, crafternights, too much chocolate, and enough one on one time to last me until I get to see her again. (which I hope is soon!) Love her to the moon and back. #soveryblessed

Good night!

Have a JOYful weekend!

xoxo

PS: want in on our new monthly photo fun? It’s “31 Days of Real Life” for March — join us on Instagram. You can find me at: celiacinthecity. #31daysIRL

 

 

Friday Photos: the view from here

Thursday afternoon this little guy showed up. (along with his mama, my mama, and his three brothers) Our apartment was alive. Two were crawling. Two were racing up to the attic, their new found secret hiding place — which turned out to be not-so-secret as we questioned the stability of the ceiling taking on their game of tag and dodgeball.

We stayed up too late, ate more cookies than we should have, sang our ABCs at least 54 times, (it’s the soothing tune that will catch the bubbas’ attention in an instant and keep them calm) watched Uncle Mark entertain all four boys effortlessly while we secretly praised him from the kitchen for letting us girls sit down for coffee together, packed up the cars and headed to our GF Get Together celebration, played in the snow, welcomed a photographer from the Journal Sentinel for a photo shoot, and celebrated National Margarita Day in style — what.a.weekend. (hence Friday Photos showing up on Sunday — that will happen sometimes, you know this blog is real life)

Take a peek…

Whoooo wants coffee? (from West Elm)

A morning photo shoot meant… we had to eat cookies for breakfast. (they didn’t mind)

The Journal Sentinel is doing a piece on gluten-free living, it’s been a crazy couple of weeks with the media — and in case you missed my debut last week, check out the video on Fox 6. Stay tuned for more details on the article!

Our 3 Year Anniversary Gluten-Free Get Together Celebration was BIG FUN at Cocina DeLeon. Each year, Linda hosts us for a private event fiesta, turning the store into a “restaurant” for us — with an all you can eat buffet!

Friday was National Margarita Day — did you celebrate? You can get my only-four-ingredient margaritas right here.

We sure did. Made a quick addition of frozen strawberries and blended them for some fruity fun.

My Mamasita is staying with me this week. (sadly, we had to say goodbye to my celiac sista, the bubbas, and the boys yesterday) She’s recovering from hand surgery, so I get to cook for her!

And she loves eggs too, (we think Mark is intolerant, so I’ve been eating them solo) I filled her up for breakfast.

We found these cute super scoopers yesterday, perfect for gluten-free friends.

We skipped the scoops and filled our bowls with deconstructed banana splits today — while we fed our addiction to Downton Abbey. Thought it would be fun to start watching with her on Netflix… after Season 1, we realized that was the only season on Netflix.  But I think I’ve got us hooked up via Amazon Prime for free live streaming, so that’s our plan for tonight — with a bowl of Italian Chili, which I’ll be sharing with you this week.

Anyone else have a Downton Abbely addiction? Or is your vice banana splits?

Hope you had a JOYful weekend!

xoxo

Potato Leek Soup & Jalapeno Biscuits: an evening with Ted Perry from Fox 6 News

Talk about interesting dinner guests — Fox 6 stopped by for dinner the other night!

WELCOME to those stopping by after seeing the story air tonight. If you didn’t get a chance to tune in, you can view the full video here.  I was thrilled to be part of the story and look forward to expanding our gluten-free community in Milwaukee! (I organize monthly GF Get Together events — stay tuned on my Facebook page, or here under the GF Get Together Events tab.)

Want to make a batch of the soup I impressed the news crew with?

 

Potato Leek Soup

 

1 ½ lbs potatoes, peeled and cubed (Yukon Golds work well)

3 leeks, washed well and sliced

1 medium onion, diced

5 cups chicken stock (vegetable works too)

2 tablespoons butter or oil

salt/pepper

Heat butter over medium-high heat, add onions and leeks and cook for 5-7 minutes, until leeks become soft. Add potatoes and chicken stock, season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes have softened.

Using a hand blender, puree until nice and smooth. I added a tablespoon of butter while doing this and more salt and pepper to round things off. Top with chives or bacon. (or both!)

Serve with these delicious biscuits — I mixed things up by using Cup4Cup flour mix, 2-3 tablespoons of diced jalapenos, and ¼ garlic powder. Brush with melted butter immediately after baking them. (Ted Perry and the crew were impressed, you will be too!)

We call this “Tayden’s Mashed Potato Soup” in our family — I may or may not have tricked my nephew into eating two bowls of this hearty soup a few years ago by renaming it. Feel free to do the same with your kiddos. (they’ll never know!)

What is YOUR go-to soup recipe to warm things up during this chilly time of year? 

 

 

 

 

Friday Photos: the view from here

 

 

My whirlwind of a week.

From Denver…

Have I mentioned how much I love Denver?

(Probably because there are always snacks waiting.)

And this little bee.

And her sweet pea sister.

And plenty of treats!

Back home to MKE for an evening with Ted Perry from Fox6.

He’s doing a story on gluten-free living — tune in this Wednesday at 10pm! set your DVR today.

Last night I got SPOILED by my dear friends Julie and Emmie — pizza, prizes, giggles, and sweets. (Mark was out if town, but we snuck in a morning chat.) A girls’ night was the perfect way to spend Valenitne’s Day…did you celebrate in style too?

And now I’m turning out the lights in St. Croix Falls tonight, in a cozy hotel room with my celiac sista and Mamasita. (It’s her birthday tomorrow and I’m surprising her with a cake from Molly’s…THANK YOU, Mary for being so sweet!)

A whirlwind indeed.

Good night!

Have a JOYful weekend.

xoxo

PS: Thursday is our 3 year anniversary of GF Get Together events — we’re celebrating at Cocina DeLeon, a fiesta! And guess who’s coming?

Friday Photos: the view from here

*Update 2/9: sorry if you stopped by yesterday when I posted this but the photos weren’t showing up — kind of defeats the purpose of Friday Photos. Here it is again.

The alarm went off at 4:30am and there has been no coffee, so I can’t really be held responsible for the content of this post.

It’s my annual “bee my valentine” trip to Denver — where we’ll bake sweet treats, spend a crafternoon making valentines, and hopefully sneak out of the hive for a girls’ night with my BFF.

But first, a week in photos…

I joined Vine this week. It’s kind of like Twitter and Instagram got together and had a cool kid named Vine. Short (6 second) videos that show up on your stream. Thinking some quick tutorials could be fun, or just documenting gluten-free goodness around Milwaukee and while traveling.

Check out my debut video of my long time friend of the blog, Quinlin, and his review of Grandma G’s Monster Cookies with ice cream — just click here.

He might just have an ongoing position around here. Little did he know when he showed up for Taco Night that he would be the star of the show.

And while Q devoured dessert…

I think the taco bar stole the show.

Sometimes Sunday afternoons call for a CafeChata. (Or a RumChata Chocolate works too.)

I know I say this often, and I’m not trying to rub it in, but I have THE best friends, family, and co-workers when it comes to being supportive of my gluten-free life style. I’m truly blessed and offer up the praises to them because some folks can’t even get their own parents to get the gluten-free thing, which always saddens me, and I have a whole team of people cheering me on.

Yesterday my supervisors treated our staff to a pizza lunch in appreciation for our work — the beginning of the semester in the post-secondary world can get a little crazy, and they wanted to show their gratitude. Sweet huh? Even sweeter was the fact that they got me my own GF pizza. From a separate pizza place that carries gluten-free crusts, VIA on Downer. (Thanks Amy & Shannon for ALWAYS including me — it means the world to me. From M&M’s and popcorn at every meeting to never forgetting to bring the labels, you’re the best!)

Yesterday looked like someone shook the snow globe all.day.long.

Which meant a warm beverage was needed in order to brave the storm to run errands. (but it also meant time with my guy, which was long overdue, and it was fun to cruise around in his new truck and not worry we won’t make it through the intersection, which is usually the case with Little Civ.)

Time to wrap this up, we’re landing — hello, Denver. Nice to see you again.

Have a JOYful weekend!

xoxo

Sarah

Leftovers from the fridge: Jalawhoppers

Over the weekend, our friends from the farm headed into the city for “Taco Night” at our place. We wanted something simple (Mark has been traveling frequently) so we wouldn’t have to think about the food, but instead just hang out and sip margaritas.

We served up both beef and venison versions — and the venison was such a hit that it went fast, leaving us with plenty of leftover beef taco meat.

That’s where Jalawhoppers come in.

Grab the leftover taco meat, cheese, jalapenos, and sour cream and meet me at the cutting board. The great thing about clean-out-the-fridge recipes, is that you just grab what you have and make it work. (no measuring — my husband would be so proud)

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the stems off of the jalapenos, and slice them lengthwise. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and insides.

Line them up in an oven safe baking dish, then fill each one with your taco meat (you could also use chicken) and top them with cheese. 

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and bubbly. (if your meat is pre-heated, this won’t take long) 

Add a dollop sour cream and serve them up with a smile.

A super simple appetizer or weeknight meal idea to use up your leftovers.

*Note: if you’d like softer jalapenos, you can do a quick “flash bath” in boiling water after cleaning out the insides, and before filling them with meat. If you like the peppers more firm, you can skip that step.

Serve with a margarita on the rocks!