Can We Still Pot Luck?

Most of us love food. We have our favorite flavors, the things we crave or give us comfort. Most of us can list one or more foods that make us drool just by the mere mention of them. And we love our pot lucks.

Most of us also have food issues. I'm allergic to shellfish. She's lactose intolerant. He's diabetic. She can't eat gluten. I'm vegetarian. She's allergic to nuts.

Restaurants are enough of a challenge but can we still pot luck? When you have a room of varying issues it can be quite the challenge. It's easier to just say "don't worry about me, I'll bring something I can eat". But that's not fair. Not fair to the one with the food issue and not fair to the one who wants to share their fabulous cooking (or buying) skills.

A few of us have decided to use these "limitations" as a way to grow our cooking skills. Our next pot luck will be shellfish free, nut free, vegetarian, and gluten free. 

The other challenge for myself and my business partner at The Girls Bra Shop is that the dinner is the day after we fly back from a very hectic time in Toronto. So I want to make something easy....a word not typically associated with gluten-free. I could buy something but that goes against my nature. Giggle.

So I've decided to try a gluten-free pizza and found what looks like an awesome crust that can be frozen on the GlutenFree Goddess blog. This just makes me a very happy girl!

Banana Bread

http://www.lifenspice.com/
2011/01/eggless-banana-walnut-bread.html

What do you do with a plethora of bananas in your fridge? Why, you make banana bread silly. Giggle.

I don't have eggs in the house so I turned to Google and the trusty food blog world and found this fantastic recipe for Eggless Banana Bread. 

So light and moist. Love it!

Tea

For a while I went through a tea phase. I loved the thought of tea. Being a coffee drinker primarily this phase resulted in a lustrous cupboard of varying teas that rarely get drank. But I still enjoy tea and when I do it has to be from a delicately designed tea cup.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night...

picaroons.ca

... at least in my glass it was.

When it comes to beers, I'm not a pale ale girl. Reds or Stouts all the way. And the Dark and Stormy Night by Picaroons is one of my favorites. It's just gorgeous to look at and I swear I taste molasses and coffee. Mmmm...coffee.

Served up at the Saint John Ale House by a charming waiter, I enjoyed my Dark and Stormy Night with most likely the best veggie burger I have ever had. Truly. A black bean patty with tomatoes, onions, lettuce and goat cheese. Oh boy! The condiments brought to the table were never touched. Ketchup, really? (she says with disdain.) I highly recommend it.

But you won't find it on the menu. Apparently, it's one of those mystery items you hear them promoting on twitter...like the elusive gnocchi, which I must go back and try some day. So you've just got to ask. I understand it is their Wednesday special. Personally, I love the idea of having specials that aren't on a menu. I like surprises.

And is it just me or does that place only hire attractive people? Just sayin'.

Tammy
One of The Girls

Grrr Nola!

I'm a big fan of breakfast. It really can set the tone for your day. One of my favorites is granola with yogurt,  all homemade. I've got the yogurt making down. (See, Yogurt) But I'm still hunting for Zenny's recipe for granola. I just can't get that flavor out of my head.

I've done some googling and have started making my own batches, tweaking it here and there until I find the flavor she mastered...or something close. I did something very right last time...so why oh why did I not write the combination down somewhere?! Back to the drawing board.

Granola is fairly simple to make. Mix your ingredients, bake stirring occasionally until you can smell it then it's done. And man how wonderful the kitchen smells with baking granola. (325 for about 30 mins)

I made a batch this week and thankfully, it's close. Just missing some freshly shredded coconut. This is what I had in it:

• 4 cups of rolled oats
• 1 cup of bran flakes
• pecans (I just dumped the bag in)
• sesame seeds
• ground flax
• sunflower seeds
• 1-2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 tbsp of oil

For me it's the cinnamon that is the flavor that haunts me. Getting so close. :)

Tammy
One of The Girls

I had a photo but the photo picker in blogger isn't currently working. I'll add it when it's up and running again.

Home Cooking Polish Goodness

I had a fantastic weekend in spite of all of the rain. Friday evening was a Girl's night out at the Vintage Bistro. Sunday was a day at Parlee Beach visiting a friend who was camping there. Sun and bonfire. Perfect. And Saturday I had lunch at the Polish Restaurant in Hammond River.

I love this place. I don't go often but when I do I'm always overjoyed with their home cooked goodness.  Usually I get the perogies but this weekend I decided to go with the cabbage roll, a staple in our home when I was growing up. And it did not disappoint. Rice, meat and seasoning all bundled up perfectly in a cabbage leaf with some tomato sauce over it. Yum! Similar to mom's and just as good.

Served up by the friendliest man you could ever meet. What a beautiful smile. You feel like you are at home sitting down to a family dinner.

And not to forget the view. Perfect location, inviting service, and marvelous food. What's not to like?

Tammy
One of The Girls

Organic: Yes, Eat Real Food

The more I experience in life, the more I want to. And naturally that translates into living a healthier lifestyle. I'm too busy enjoying what life offers to get sick. And if there is something I can do to reduce that risk then why not?

Over the years I've traveled a good chunk of the world and am always amazed how food in countries like the Philippines, Bolivia, and Greece has so much more flavor than at home. Is it just from travel euphoria? You know how food tastes better outside just because you're outside? M'eh.

Caught that day we had
it grilled that night!

The papaya in the Philippines is so sweet and juicy, not to mention the coconut. Thinking about it still makes me drool!

I make it a point to order anything with tomatoes when I travel to Greece. I live off of their yogurt, and the olive oil...forget about it.

You know how everything tastes like chicken? Then you need to go to Costa Rica and have a real grain fed chicken breast!! We ain't got nothing like that here.

Or do we?

Gradually, I've been culling my kitchen of processed foods and going with a whole food kitchen as much as I can. It's been cool to watch the whole food, organic industry grow as more and more of us are reading labels and discovering most of what we eat...well it isn't actually food.

My cousin has chickens in their back yard. They are free range and their eggs are amazing! There are more and more opportunities to buy local and organic produce. And this morning I read an article in our provincial paper on how the face of farming is getting younger and going organic. It's exciting to watch this rebirth in such a healthy and delicious way!

One farmer mentioned is also the executive chef at the Saint John Ale House. I honestly hadn't visited much as it wasn't on my radar for healthy choices. Thanks to this article (and admittedly a photo of a gnocchi dish Jesse posted on twitter...I have a love affair with gnocchi) I plan to visit very soon.

Read the article here: http://telegraphjournal.canadaeast.com/front/article/1416050

Tammy
One of The Girls