Gluten-Free Get Togethers: a year in review

I have been gluten-free for three years now.

Wowza.

Just before my second year anniversary of being gluten-free, I put the idea out into the Universe that I wanted to start a group here in the city. That was in January of 2010. The following month, I hosted my first Gluten-Free Get Together event at Pizzeria Piccola in Wauwatosa.

That was a year ago. It feels like yesterday that I was nervous, anxious, excited, giddy to get there and meet everyone. Not sure why I was so nervous. Some pretty amazing people showed up. Several of which will be coming to our one year anniversary dinner on February 28th at Parkside 23 in Brookfield.

Care to join us? Check out the invite on Facebook to RSVP.

Here is a look at what we have been up to for the last year. Not just to make you drool over the food, or feel bummed that you weren’t around in the beginning, but to give you ideas of places in and around Milwaukee for your next date night.

GFGT I — February  2010 — Pizzeria Piccola

GFGT II — March 2010 — P.F. Chang’s

GFGT III — April 2010 — Stack’d

GFGT IV — May 2010 — Transfer Pizzeria

(well this is embarrassing… I can’t find any pictures from Transfer. At all. And I have been there numerous times since then. Trust me though, it’s great pizza)

GFGT V — June 2010 — Tess

GFGT VI — July 2010 — Jose’s Blue Sombrero

(again…no pictures. but get their guac when you go!)

GFGT VII — August 2010 — VIA Downer

GFGT VIII — September 2010 —  Beans and Barley

(this pic was from a recent visit. mmm… pesto eggs)

GFGT IX — October 2010 — Cocina De Leon

GFGT X — November 2010 — Chili Lili’s

GFGT XI — December 2010 — Holiday Cookie Exchange @ Celiac in the City’s place

GFGT XII — January 2011 — The Silly Yak bakery & Bunky’s Cafe — Madison

thankyouthankyouthankyou.

for joining me on this journey.

and making our little community what it is.

xoxo

~Sarah

Milwaukee County Winter Famers’ Market

I found a hidden treasure in Milwaukee. And it’s happening almost every weekend from Nov-April at State Fair Park.

Who knew? Milwaukee has a Farmers’ Market during the winter.

As soon as I heard this was going on, I had to stop in and see this for myself.

The room was packed with folks buzzing around from table to table to see who had the best products to offer. We needed a game plan. Do we start heading right, to be greeted by the friends from the elk farm? Or head to the left to a table filled with baskets of mushrooms?

Right turn first. Make our way around and end with the mushroom lady.

I saw them right away. Apples. From a farm. In Wisconsin. If you pay attention to the stickers on your apples from the store, many of them are coming from New Zealand this time of year. (or any time for that matter) In my opinion, many of the store bought apples have lost their taste. It was the only thing on my list really.

The nice gentleman explained that the apples will keep for quite a while if you store them at a cool temperature, just above freezing. I grabbed a few from him and another apple vendor who was selling Honey Crisps, my favorite!

Next stop- a visit with Rich at the Sorghum table. I have started using  sorghum flour more often and had recently purchased this exact brand from Outpost. I picked up some Sorghum Hot Breakfast Cereal, and have been topping it with a little milk and real maple sugar. Yum!

Mmm… cheese. From our new friends at Saxon. We first tasted their products at Larry’s Market and were delighted to find them at this market. (especially because they had a whole table of cheeses to try) I picked this one. Pastures. A hint of sweet, creamy, oh-so-good.

After filling our bags with local goodness, we glanced around the room one more time, to be sure we had gotten everything we said, “we’ll come back for that” to.

A sign caught my eye.

It said “All Enchiladas are Naturally Gluten Free.” This I had to see. Linda at Cocina DeLeon was happy to tell me all about how easy it is to make the enchiladas gf, no need for anything but real, safe ingredients. She was even kind enough to give me some enchiladas to sample and tell you about.

I picked spinach/bean and she gifted me the beef enchiladas. They come frozen in the tray you cook them it. Simple. Perfect for a busy week night when you don’t feel like cooking.

Easy to make, just pop them in the oven, then add the enchilada sauce and shredded cheese (included in their own cute little containers) and finish them off  with a bit longer in the oven. Stop in to see her at their Brookfield location, or even better, head out to State Fair Park and visit her and other local friends doing their part!

Both flavors hit the spot. Authentic taste, not like a frozen dinner with over processed ingredients. Homemade taste. Perfect for a chilly Wisco day. Thank you to Linda for being helpful and enthusiastic about her products. She loves her work and it shows! (even when all the other vendors were packing up and we caught her at the end of the day)