Amy's GF Non-Dairy Burrito

I'm gonna be honest here. I am not really a fan of most vegan food products. They're processed food, first of all. My general rule of thumb is that if my great grandmother wouldn't recognize it as food, I'd prefer not to eat it. Of course, I do break that rule, but whenever possible, I like food that's for the most part, non- or minimally processed.

With that in mind, I bought one of these gluten free, vegan burritos the other day. 

Here's the label and ingredients list next to the frozen burrito on my plate..

Since I'm the one responsible for my health, I read every label every time. Just in case. Formulas and recipes can change without a complete label re-design.

This burrito looks safe. Time to nuke it.
It cracked a little. Big whoop.

Time to eat! It's pretty much all beans in some sort of beany paste. This needs some sort of sauce, and since cheese and sour cream aren't an option, I squeezed on a little mayo.

I put mayo on all sorts of things.

Don't frown at that - it's good!

Anyway, I actually liked this and now we always keep one on hand in the freezer for when I need something fast.

Etiquitte...and Stupidity

Over the years, while dealing with an on-again, off-again inability to eat wheat, people seem to have maintained the same fearful attitude toward food.

What I mean is that when people hear that I can't eat something, they become defensive about it, and that often makes a little thing into an ordeal. I get so tired of my spiel, asking specific questions about the ingredients and cooking method, that dining out isn't any fun. (Aside from my options being extremely limited once I apply my two filters to the menu.)

While I can't say "I've heard it all," I've heard plenty of hurtful, thoughtless, and stupid things, and I wish people could spend a day in my shoes to understand what it's like.

Comments and actions that haunt me at night, weeks and months afterwards are:


"May I see your allergy menu please?"
   "What are you allergic to?"
This restaurant manager's friend's mom eats gluten free, so this makes him an expert on the subject. I replied that my food allergies are complicated and hard to work around, and asked for the menu again, which he held in his hands and asked again to know my personal food issues. Not cool, not professional, and I cried in front of him. Then I sent a carefully written email to the franchise owner who apologized and promised to send me a gift card to try them one more time. The gift card never arrived, so I am not going to try them ever again.

"Are these dairy free?"
   "There's only a little bit of dairy in them."
I was at a party with another gluten free person, and the hostess had baked gluten free treats for us. When I asked if they're dairy free, she and the other host kept telling me that there's only a little bit of dairy in them. This is the same as saying, "There are only a few teeny glass shards in this," or "There's only a little bit of rat poison in this." I actually use the rat poison remark as my standard reply when people try to tell me that there's only a little bit of wheat or dairy in something. As if the amount of these two determine how sick I get.

The amount doesn't matter. In my body, it's poison.

"I'd like the burger with sauteed onions, but are the onions sauteed in oil or butter? I can't have any dairy and need to make sure they're safe for me."
   "They're cooked in oil. Do you want cheese on that burger?"
This is just plain stupidity. Why don't people know where food comes from? Don't answer; that's a rhetorical question. But why don't people know where their food comes from?

"No toast for me, thanks. I can't eat wheat." (This was said to a college roommate. She was in her 3rd year studying to be a nutritionist.)
   "Just have white bread instead."
Incredulous look, facepalm.

"May I have mayo on that lettuce wrap?" (This was after I explained that I can't have cheese.)
   "But mayo is dairy."
This prompted a brief and polite education on the lovely sauce from France (or Spain, depending on who you ask) called Mayonnaise, and that it is primarily egg, mustard, vinegar, and oil. And then the gal who thought mayo was dairy exclaimed,
   "But eggs are dairy!"

Oh dear lord... why don't people know where food comes from?
Cows = mammals = live birth = milk
Chickens = birds = eggs
I learned this in 3rd grade, and this kind of conversation was a regular kitchen discussion with my mom, learning about what we eat, why we eat it, and where it comes from.


Sigh.
End rant.

Image credit to: https://www.nlm.nih.gov/visibleproofs/galleries/technologies/marsh.html

Mississippi Pizza

Date night at the laundromat.

Okay, this isn't just any laundromat, this is the place we lovingly refer to as "The Hipster Laundromat." Others know it a Spin City Laundromat. 

It's a great place for date night. Really. Buy an espresso drink after 10pm and get a free dry. They serve beer and wine. And gluten free snacks. This really is a neat place to do the wash.

But this blog post is about where we went after finishing up the laundry. It was 9pm and we were starving, so we drove up Mississippi a few blocks and landed at Mississippi Pizza. 

There was a live band on one side, and one little free table on the pizza side, so we meandered up to the counter and pondered our options. 

I explained to the girl behind the counter that I'm GF and DF and she said, "Oh! We can do that!"

Loved her attitude. This is what makes eating out fun - someone who is willing to help me find something tasty and safe. 

Almost all of the pizzas were available to me with only slight modification, if that, so it was great to have almost a full menu to choose from. She set me up with a chicken bacon basil tomato artichoke pine nut GF pizza with no cheese. She suggested a sprinkling of nutritional yeast on it to give it the tangy umami of cheese. I'd never tried that, so I said "Sure!" 

She mentioned that one of her vegan co-workers uses Daiya cheese on her pizza and would I like that as well? Not a fan of Daiya, so this was fine. 

Here's the finished product. I was so hungry and anxious to try it that I scarfed down the first slice before getting a picture. 

It was DELICIOUS.
One of the best pizzas I've had.

Dave ordered his own pizza with a traditional crust, meat, cheese, etc, and according to him, it was good. I believe him; he didn't box up any leftovers for lunch the next day.

The two pizzas plus soda ran us about $45, so it was a little spendy in my opinion, but we did order two whole pizzas. And I had leftovers the next day.

Now, on the local GF Facebook group I occasionally chat with, some have said they are sensitive to cross contamination here, and others have expressed horror at the amount of wheat flour in the air from making traditional pies. This is definitely an issue for some, but as long as I stay on the wagon consistently, I can handle a little bit of this.

Mississippi Pizza is a definite yes, and I can't wait to go back.

via Instagram

Our first attempt at making gluten free fry bread. Next time, it needs to be thicker, and made with a different GF flour.

Punchbowl Social

During the Christmas Party season, D and I found ourselves somewhere in downtown Portland, looking for supper. The "Find Me Gluten Free" app suggested a place called Punchbowl Social, and it wasn't too far away, so we parked at Pioneer Place and went up to the restaurant. 

Several company holiday parties were going on. Several area of the restaurant were roped off for private parties, and there was a wait for the rest of the dining area.

I like a busy restaurant. 

That tells me the food is probably pretty good. 

Our waiter came over and I went through my polite song and dance about needing to be GF and DF, and he was really cool about it. There wasn't much I could safely order, unfortunately, so I had a burger. 

Don't get me wrong, I like burgers, but I end up only being able to order a burger at half of the places we go to, so I eat a hell of a lot of burgers. 

It gets old. Really old.

On the other hand, I consider myself a sort of connoisseur of GFDF burgers. 

Which is why I started this blog.

...that and it was getting hard to keep track of who gives good beef.

(That came out wrong. You know what I mean.)

SO... onto the burger. I ordered a basic burger, to be safe, with a GF bun and fries. I didn't ask about cross contamination in their fryer and assumed there was cross contamination. I wanted fries dammit, and preferred to not know. 

Drinks were served up in Mason jars, dinner was served up in a frying pan. Cute.

My GF "bun" was two slices of GF bread, and they disintegrated about 2 bites in. I flagged down the waiter and asked for a fork, I also showed him the problem and suggested he tell the manager there are better GF buns out there. I even went so far to tell him how much better WOW Burger is (I'm ballsy like that) and that what makes Wow so great is their bun. (Wow uses Jensen's buns. They're like buttermilk biscuits, only better. And they hold up. Do you hear that Slide Inn? They hold up!)

The Verdict: 

It was a burger. I ate it.

The atmosphere seemed really fun. If there were more options for me to eat, I'd love to go back. 

But a Meh Burger with a fally-aparty bun doesn't get me really excited about the idea.

Here's their menu, anyway.

I'm writing this post a few months after the fact. Maybe there's slaw or kraut on the burger. I don't remember. 

Apparently it didn't blaze itself in my memory as the best burger I've ever eaten. 

That trophy goes to Bend Burger Co. 

Only 168 miles away from my home. 

Sigh. 

I'd like to go there today. 

A burger sounds kinda good right about now.

Kinnikinnick K-Toos Cookies

Today we're on a day trip to Newport, Oregon to see the sea lions and find some tide pools to explore. On the way there, we stopped in the little town of Toledo to grab some coffee at the local Thriftway.

Of course, coffee needs cookies... (actually, I was eyeing the doughnut case and wishing I could safely have one.)

I asked a lady who worked there if they have anything GF, and was thrilled when she said, "Oh yes! We just put in a big GF section, and we have several cookies for you."

Yay!

I bought a package of Kinnikinnick K-Toos. Never had them before, hoped they weren't too bean flavored. (Like soy flour or sorghum. Bleh.)

My verdict: Very tasty. I love how light and crisp they are, like the melt in your mouth feel of eating shortbread. Yum.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner!

Lugano Cafe

Today, I arrived early in Tualatin for a PT appointment, so I decided to grab breakfast at Luganos, the new cafe across the street.

The friendly barista greeted me and offered me their menu.

"Do you have anything GF?" I asked. It was a crap shoot, and I expected nothing. Well maybe fruit, but honestly I had low expectations.

"Oh sure, we have GF scones," she offered. Inside I yelped "Yay!" as I mentally did my happy dance. Yeah, calm down, I still needed to ask about dairy.

"... Oh wait," she paused, "I think they're sold out. In that case, the only other GF item we have on the menu is one of our scrambles, but you'd have to get it without toast."

At 9:45 am, they still had half a dozen each of other beautiful baked items, so either they had a run on GF items, or they bake less GF than the other items, or they don't carry any GF and she was making it all up.

I didn't want to go into the whole dairy-free song and dance regarding the eggs, and cringed at the $9 price tag for some scrambled eggs, so this is my breakfast: a vanilla soy latte.

Ho hum.

Daiya GF Cheeze Pizza

This "pizza" can be described this in three words:

VOMIT-FLAVORED VELVEETA

The whole story is brief -
I was craving pizza one night and grabbed this at the local Freddy's. Wanting more than just "cheese" on it, I added my own pepperoni, which turned out to be the only edible thing on this pizza.

It was disgusting; probably the worst thing I have ever eaten. The crust was tasteless and the "cheese" was like vomit-flavored Velveeta. When I returned it to get my $8.50 back, the lady at the service desk said, 

"Yeah, I hear these are pretty gross."

Apparently mine wasn't the first return.

Next time, I'm going to try assembling my own with a GF crust and began cheese from Trader Joe's. I hear theirs is much closer to real cheese.

Silk Plain Unsweetened

My go-to creamer is Silk Plain Unsweetened. The flavor took a little getting used to at first (I am now used to not having the cheesy cow dairy flavor of real half and half in my cup.) I like how it's the right creaminess without being syrupy, and the neutral flavor lets the roasty coffee flavor come through.

I'm intrigued that this is sometimes hard to find in stores. My local Fred Meyer and Winco both carry it, but are occasionally sold out. Sometimes I can find it at Albertson's, but it's not guaranteed. The grocery store closest to me is Safeway, and they do not carry it, despite multiple requests from me to do so. They carry every other kind of unsweetened plain alternative milk, and all varieties of soy milk, including unsweetened vanilla in the blue box, and sweetened plain in the red box. 

I don't get it. 

When I run out of my Silk, it can be a pain in the butt to quickly run to the store to get another one. We are now in the habit of buying two cartons at a time to make sure there's always a backup in the fridge, but sometimes life gets busy and we can't get to the store once a week to replace the backup carton. 

This is why I keep the Kikkoman Pearl on hand in my pantry. Just in case.

Kikkoman Pearl Plain Unsweetened

My favorite coffee creamer product is Kikkoman Pearl Plain Unsweetened. I'd use this as my everyday coffee creamer, but it only comes in smaller boxes, and I go through so much per week that I'd rather get the larger Silk and be done with it.

I do like that it doesn't have to be refrigerated, so I keep several boxes on hand in the pantry as my emergency backup. I keep a box of this in the fridge at work, and like that I can keep a spare box in my desk, ready to go when I've used up the one in the fridge.

Unsweetened Plain Cashew Milk

Not a fan. The texture is very similar to the bottles of super sweet, flavored coffee creamer that I dislike, only there was zero flavor. It was weird, being so syrupy but lacking any flavor whatsoever, so drinking it was like drinking syrupy coffee. It was just wrong in my mouth.

I added sugar to the cup, as is my habit when choking down bad coffee, but then dumped it down the sink. The texture was just awful in coffee. 

No thank you

Gluten is...

Dickie Joe's Burgers

Rushing around today, I decided to force myself to pause at 2:49pm for brunch.

Yeah, I said brunch. At almost 3pm.

Don't judge. At least I'm eating before 7pm.

(Again, no judging, please.)

The long line at Taco Bell suggested I grab a burger next door at Dickie Joe's. I had a Wow!Burger at 9pm last night, but what the hell.

In brief, they were helpful when I asked to see the ingredients in their gluten free bun, which was spongy and light - almost like traditional bread. And yes, it's dairy free. They brush the bun with rice bran oil and toast it. No butter :-)

They asked if I'd like them to change their gloves when making my food. Yes please.

There was a little confusion over what I wanted and didn't want on the burger, resulting in a remake without cheese, but the burger was tasty. Dedicated fryer. 

My mushroom kraut burger* plus fries and a regular fountain drink was $11 even.

Summary: good food, easy to order, GFDF, and I would return. 

*This is my usual order at Wow!Burger, and since that's what I had for dinner, I thought it would be interesting to compare the two. (Wow wins.) Why kraut? It kind of stands in for the tangy umami of Swiss cheese. It's really good. You should try it sometime.

Easy Wagon Meals

Yesterday I learned that I will need shoulder surgery, and next Wednesday is the big day.

All the info I'm reading on how to prepare for this is grim. My dominant hand will be immobilized for at least 6 weeks, and that kind of disruption has me nervous and scared.

I am really not looking forward to one-handed kitchen and bathroom duties.

Luckily, the kitchen stuff may not be so scary.

I hope.

My 20 year old daughter lives with me, and she is an excellent chef who understands how to cook for me. It's a no-brainer at home, really, and aside from a few occasional modifications, everything made at home is on the wagon.

Dave doesn't cook much, but he's a willing helper who learns quickly, so I think if I can put him in charge of mincing garlic, handling the raw meat, and tossing things in a saute pan (yes! We taught him that trick!) we should be ok in the food department.

Mostly.

I'm curious about finding convenience and easy food that is both gluten free and dairy free. There is a growing list on a Facebook group I belong to, so as I explore, I'll post links and products here.

No Udi's chocolate chocolatey chocolaty-ness

It's been a rough week.
No, it has been a rough month. Or three. I need a long vacation, a big nap, a hug, and some good chocolate.

Over my lunch break, I ventured out of the safety of my cave cubicle to shop at Fred Meyer. After selecting from my limited options at the deli, I decided to get some chocolate.

Mmm, chocolate.

There were some Udi's brownie bites in the freezer, so I crossed my fingers for luck and checked the label. Dairy.

Poo.

No Udi's for me.

I'm really having a hard time with this gfdf lifestyle. I feel like all my comfort foods are gone. Not that I am in the habit of eating my feelings, I'm not - but with the loss of my dad not too long ago, I just want something familiar and comforting. Like a chocolate cookie. Or mac & cheese that tastes like mac & cheese. 

When I realized Udi's was not even an option, I couldn't hold back and started to cry in the grocery store. How embarrassing. 

I contemplated buying a bottle of wine and spending the rest of the day on the couch in my pajamas, getting acquainted with wine as my new comfort food, but decided against it.

I need to figure out some go-to solutions for when I'm feeling this way, and fast, before I end up in the loony bin. Or in jail - from having a tantrum in the grocery store over not getting a cookie when I want one.

Laughing Planet - Gabriel Park

Laughing Planet is one of those places I kinda sorta like sometimes. You know what I mean?

Most of the time I avoid places that feature the popular vegan cafe "Veggie Bowl" or "Veggie Wrap" thing. It just doesn't appeal to me. This is why every time I venture into Cafe Yumm, I see this on the menu and venture back out to seek out another place to eat. 

When I'm desperate I find myself at Laughing Planet, and it seems like every time I go here, that's what I find. There is one near a laundromat we use, and that's usually when I eat there. 

Despite not liking the bowls or wraps, this place makes it easy to find food that I can eat. 

Last laundry night we ended up here just before closing I found a Paleo Bowl that seemed edible, and I asked about the Killer Green sauce that comes with it. The gal at the counter said, 

"Oh, it's very mild. It has avocado, cilantro, serrano pepper... (blah blah blah)...and other chile peppers"

"Can I have a taste first?" I asked.

Holy crap. Serrano was a red flag that I overlooked because I trusted her when she said it's mild. It is NOT mild, and I coughed and choked and wished for a piece of bread of glass of milk to kill the heat. 

"I like spicy food," she said, "So I guess it seems mild to me. Do you want to try the BBQ sauce or peanut sauce?"

Having previously learned that their BBQ sauce is super spicy, I asked to try the peanut sauce. 

It was tasty, but the one taste continued to heat up as we talked, and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle a whole dinner with that all over it. 

After tasting the hummus, I went with that. Dinner was ok. I ate more kale than I normally do. 

Dave ordered a quesadilla and it was ok, but he wished it had more cheese. 

This is why we save this place for days when we're desperate. 

Here's the Laughing Planet menu. It is very easy to order GFDF here. 

Petunia's Pies and Pastries

Valentine's Day.
I wanted cake, dammit, and I didn't want to get sick. Plus, it had been a very rough previous 6+ weeks (my dad became very ill then passed away) so this was an especially big treat.

We entered the beautiful shop and studied the menu. 

Grilled cheese sandwiches? I know this is a 100% GF place, but cheese? Is it vegan or not?

I asked the girl at the counter about the cheese. She said, "Yes, it's grilled 'cheese,'" giving me air quotes with the word "cheese." Ahh, THAT kind of cheese. Okay. This place is 100% GF and 100% vegan That means no dairy. 

Yay! I don't have to think, and every single thing on the menu is safe. 

It's very hard, being both GF and DF. Once I find out what the GF options are, I have to further narrow them down to find the DF choices within my limited options. When it comes to dessert, this usually means I get nothing. Even at fully GF places like Ground Breaker, there are no dairy free dessert options. 

So. I got the Champagne Cake. As expected, it was heavier than traditional cake, and a little beany, but the frosting made up for the bean flavor of the cake. It was pretty good, considering it was GF.

Dave got the chocolate cake. Again, it was very dense. The chocolate flavor masked the bean taste, but we both agreed it could have used a little more sugar. He ate about 6 bites and said I can have the rest. It's not his thing. 

We spent about $29 for two slices of cake plus a mocha and a latte, and a tip for the very helpful girls at the counter. I was a little disappointed that so-so cake was $7.99 for a slice. Yes, I realize that GF ingredients cost more, but for that price I'd expect cake that didn't have so much bean flavor. ( I can make a GF cake without so much sorghum or other bean flavored flours, but maybe keeping the eggs out makes other flours more difficult to use?) Anyway, it was just okay. It was cake. I'm impressed by the bakery, not so much by the cake.

Maybe someday we might return for cupcakes or other bakery, but we're not in any rush to do so.

Here is Petunia's Pies & Pastry's menu. It is very easy to order GFDF here.

El Nutri-Taco

While on a late night date night stroll down NE Alberta, Dave and I came across this joint. The menu looks good. Must try it sometime when it's warmer outside.

Killer Burger - Hollywood

Elvis has no buns at Killer Burger.

Yes, I ordered Elvis for dinner without his buns.

That's fun to think about...
A Bunless Elvis.

This is my bunless, fork and knife burger and fries in the foreground.

It was tasty, although the bacon was a little overdone. Hold the cheese, double the attitude, and the music volume didn't make me cringe so I can't be THAT old.

Dave (the pair of hands with the cool watch) ordered The Barnyard. He happily eats gluten and dairy and is proud of it.

I didn't get sick, I'll be back, the bathroom was amusing. 

 

That's all I have to say about that.

Here's the menu at Killer Burger. I don't know if they have a dedicated fryer but rather doubt it. (I didn't ask.) It was easy to order a bunless burger without cheese, but I'd probably stay away if I was worried about cross contamination.

The Sudra

This is a vegan Indian restaurant with a decent GFDF dessert on the menu.

Dave and I had been out and were looking for a decent place to get a nice dessert.

We ended up meandering around NE and ended up at 24th and Glisan, where there is a neat food pod of micro-restaurants in a brick and mortar setting.

We first ventured into The Pie Spot, and I really wanted pie, but their GF pies still had butter in the crust, so that was a no go. Dave got pie, and I wandered around to see what other restaurants were on the block. 

That's when I discovered The Sudra, and ordered their vegan payasam (kind of like an apple crisp) with coconut bliss ice cream.

This food pod has community seating shared by all the restaurants, under a neat covered wagon tent made out or red vinyl.

Nice desserts, nice atmosphere, (nice prices), and a very nice evening.

Pretty cool.

Amy's GF DF Burrito

It's vegan, but quite tasty. 

Not so spicy my wimpy mouth can't eat it.

Looks like hell, but who cares. I liked it.

I'd buy it again. 

  

BOLD GFDF Pizza

Not bad, considering it's a frozen GF crust and the cheese is soy.

Looks close enough to the picture on the box. 

Wasn't bad. I'd buy it again.

Bought it at Natural Grocers.

North Atlantic Tofu

This was pointed out and giggled at one night when we went out to eat.

I can just imagine the little white block of tofu happily swimming in the cold north Atlantic waters, dodging sharks and swordfish until it unknowingly swims into the net of an ambitious tofurman and hauled onto the deck of his boat. 

Poor little tofu.

I hope the tofurman treated it humanely, so PETT* doesn't get upset.

*People for the Ethical Treatment of Tofu

The Slide Inn

Hands down, the most tasty burger (patty) I've ever had.
The bun, however, disintegrated. It was dry and dense and crumbly and had no flavor.

I scraped the bun crumbles off my burger and ate the rest with a fork. Our waitress said the buns are hit or miss. Some batches are good, others not so good. This one was definitely not so good.

The Slide Inn menu is well-marked to make it easy to order GF, but takes some conversation and back and forth from the kitchen to make sure the bun and other things are dairy free.

We spent $37 including tip for two burgers, a coke, and a hard cider.

Service was really really slow on the evening we were there. On the other hand, we were there to hear a Dave's friend Jardima sing, and the place was completely packed and the staff was running like crazy.

Overall, the burger (patty) was excellent, and I'd like to go back there again to see if I can get a bun from a good batch.

White Owl Social Club

Very tasty bacon (cheeseless) burger with the GF bun, fries, and a Smith & Forge hard cider.

Warning! The ketchup has sriracha mixed in, and it's a bit spicy.

Been there thrice, loved the burger all three times, didn't get sick.

We spent $34 including tip for two burgers, a coke, and a hard cider. 

Here's the White Owl Social Club menu. I'm not sure if there's dairy in the GF bun. I didn't ask, even though I know I should have. I'm also not sure about a dedicated fryer. 

Ordering is not always easy here. Each time I have been there, I've ordered the same thing: a bacon cheese burger, hold the cheese, on a GF bun. One time I had to send it back because there was cheese on it, and my replacement had no cheese but also no bacon. No matter where I am, if I have to send back food to have it remade correctly, I get very nervous about increased risk of getting gluten or dairy in my remake. 

Bottom line, I like this place. The food is good and I don't get sick afterwards.

That's kind of a sad endorsement, isn't it? "The food didn't make me sick, so I'll be back."

Welcome to the life of someone who has food sensitivities.

MOD Pizza

Their GF crust is tasty and chewy. Sounds odd for a pizza, but it's delicious.

I like to substitute artichoke hearts for the cheese - it's a nice sub for the tangy and kind of adds a similar texture.

I don't trust any of the processed meats so usually get chicken.

When the mood hits, I'll get my pizza toppings on a salad instead. The viniagrette is GFDF and not too vinegary for my taste.

Plus, it's budget dining - $7 for a single pie with unlimited toppings.

Here's the MOD Pizza menu.

When I told Dave I don't have any pictures from our visits here, he winked and said, "Oh gee, darn. We'll have to go back and get some pizza so you can take pictures."

What a guy, volunteering to help like that.
(Tee hee)