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.