Friday Photos: 10 Days of Real Food – Day 4

Welcome to Friday Photos, a weekly feature here on Celiac in the City — you can read how it all started by clicking HERE.)

It’s Day 4 of the 10 Days of Real Food pledge.

And those cookies are the last thing on my mind.

Instead, I’ve actually taken the time for making breakfast.

Nothing fancy this week because (sadly) I am back at work, after a refreshing (but too short) holiday break. The students aren’t back for classes until the end of the month, so my days are a bit less rushed right now — perfect for sitting down and actually enjoying a meal.

And right before we started this pledge, I had one tasty breakfast at Stubby’s — where they have Crispin Cider on tap, my first indicator they were cool. Our server was quick to check with the chef on safe brunch options and I went with the fan favorite, Tenderloin Benedict: two 3-oz. grilled tenderloin medallions served atop grilled portabella mushrooms with poached Yuppie Hill Farm eggs, finished with Sriracha Hollandaise. (sans tater tots — they brought me fresh pineapple) Because everything was made from scratch, this would have fit right in this week. Ok, maybe minus the Crisposa — Crispin and orange juice.

My breakfast of choice the last two days though, was this.

plain yogurt, sweetened with a little honey. banana, figs and a sprinkle of cinnamon. served with Gluten-Free Girl’s graham crackers

I  had to modify the graham cracker recipe to fit into the “real food” category, but it was worth it. I won’t lie, they were a little better with cinnamon and sugar on top, but I’ll take what I can get.

As I said in my last post, Mark is joining me on this 10 day adventure, which has helped tremendously. (that and my daily hourly emails with Kristi, to keep us on the straight and narrow) This has inspired us to get in the kitchen and get creative. Not only are we focusing on eating real foods, but also eating from the pantry and freezer.

acorn squash stuffed with homemade venison andouille sausage, kale, peppers, celery and onions topped with parmesan cheese

You really could stuff any ‘ol vegetable and the “stuffing” ideas are endless. Just pre-cook your meat (or go meatless) then in the same pan, add in your veggies. Pre-roast your squash, fill with your masterpiece of a veggie mix, bake to warm through and melt cheese.

Real food dinner is served.

See? Endless ideas — on the first night we pan seared some shrimp as a topper.

Not everyone is a fan of venison. Truth be told, I turned my nose up at it for years, until I met my husband. He has the magic touch for all things venison. And we’re not just talking throw some venison steaks on the grill — that was the only way I had tried it prior to Mark’s menu of options, and I was not a fan.

I like mine flavored with a marinade, breaded for venison parmesan, spicy for venison tacos, pounded down and rolled around stalks of asparagus and goat cheese, or double ground with pork shoulder to make sausage.

venison bratwurst patties topped with swiss cheese, pickles and spicy brown mustard  & a quick potato gratin

I guarantee you’ve never had venison all the ways Mark has made it — you would be a fan, promise. Because we are eating out of the freezer, there will be more venison recipes to come.

And keep the veggies coming. Need more ways to incorporate them? Check out Daily Bites — Hallie has some ideas and a recipe for you, plus some giveaways you won’t want to miss. And stay tuned each Thursday as she and other bloggers ring in 2012 with “New Year, New You.” Eating habits that you can carry through the entire year.

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One thing that doesn’t fit into my 10 Day Real Food pledge, but still deserves a photo, is this fun-filled package that arrived for me this week. As a runner up in the Cup4Cup cookie contest with my Snowflake Cookies recipe, I received a bag of their C4C gluten-free flour mix, a bowl scraper, and a hand written note from Lena Kwak! (she is the mastermind behind C4C, working alongside Thomas Keller) It’s not everyday you get mail from The French Laundry… kind of a big deal.

(they love my website. yes, in the scrapbook it goes.)

Not only do they have this handy new gluten-free flour mix, but they work hard to provide GF options in their restaurants too. I’ve said it before, we really are in the “golden age” of gluten-free.

When a world famous chef is taking note of the gluten-free community, I can move past the little comments like, “well, yes it’s the same fryer, but it’s such a minimal amount, that it’s fine” (shame on you bartender at Cafe Hollander) I’ll just keep bringing in my own fries from Stack’d. 😉

Off to the gym for a nice long walk. (or maybe I should be outside with these nice temps!)

Thanks to sister Laura for this video — can you limit your sleeping and sitting to just 23.5 hours a day? 🙂

video source

How are YOUR new year resolutions going?