First thing first, the Katz Gluten-Free Giveaway Winners!
Using the Random Number Generator:
The winner of $25 Katz Dollars goes to #35… Tia!
and
The runner up for a FREE sample package of Katz Gluten Free goodies goes to #71… LV!
Congratulations ladies! I will email you for more information. 
Thank you to everyone for entering this great giveaway courtesy of Katz Gluten-Free. Remember, there is still time to enter the “big” giveaway for $100 Katz Dollars! The deadline for entering is September 13, 2010.
I also want to thank everyone for your kind words of support and ideas about my bizarre taste issue, hopefully, I will get this figured out soon!
There will be a new giveaway starting tomorrow, so be sure to check that out (it will be exceptionally exciting for my corn-free friends)! 
Now, how about some lunch?
The inspiration for this nifty little concoction came from the Taste of Home Magazine. I thought this would be a great introduction to the joys of sandwiches for my kiddos, who are meat-sandwich adverse. I really don’t get it, but they will only eat a nut butter & jelly sandwich. Deli meats must be cubed (lunchbox kabobs) or made into a roll-up, egg-salad is preferred as a dip for potato chips* (see below), and chicken or tuna salad is…well, those just come back home!
Like a lot of parents, I struggle with sending a nutritious meal (that my kids will actually eat) to school five days a week. I think the problem with my eldest, is that he’s a flapper jack (I know it can’t be the food, he’ll eat Brussels sprouts like popcorn for Pete’s sake)! 
Sam just socializes too much during lunch, so he inevitably runs out of time. By the time he gets home at 4:30/5pm though; he is STARVING and proceeds to drive me batty while I am trying to prepare dinner!
The Day After Update: So, Sam came home with half of his “inside out” sandwich and 3/4 of everything else…except the gummy bears, he did manage to eat those! Here is what I came up with: No sweets in his lunch box until he starts eating all of his lunch (for at least a week) AND (this was my brilliant bomb drop): the next time he comes home with a full lunch, I will be making a lunchtime visit to make sure he eats…and I will hug & kiss him IN FRONT OF HIS FRIENDS! Oh, you should have seen the look on his face, LOL!
My solution thus far has been to have a variety of healthy snacks sitting out that they can freely munch on while I prepare dinner, like raw veggies with hummus or dill dip and fresh cut fruit. While I love doing this because they will usually eat whatever vegetable I offer when they are really hungry, I do fret that they are pretty much going the entire school day on whatever it was they had for breakfast (which is why I have to make sure breakfast counts big time)! My hope is that by making their lunch look fun and interesting, they might be enticed to actually eat it!
The jury is still out on the overall success of the “inside out sandwich” (I just sent them in their lunch for the first time today), but the boys were definitely intrigued this morning (although, I think they were most interested in the “pirate sword” toothpicks I recently purchased at Party City…hey, whatever works)!
To build a gluten-free inside out sandwich for Sam (I made Luke’s casein-free by omitting the cheese), I used Applegate Farms Uncured Ham, Udi’s gluten-free bread trimmed of the crust (the bread wouldn’t “roll” with the crust attached), a thin schmear of low-fat olive oil mayo on each side of the bread, a Sargento Light String Cheese (see Sargento’s gluten-free product list), and a dye-free dill pickle spear. After I rolled up the sandwich, I pierced it with a fun toothpick and trimmed off each edge, easy peasy!
To finish off this lunch, I added a thermos of leftover homemade Panera Bread Creamy Tomato Soup (which I tweaked to be gluten-free and dairy-free), fresh cut apple slices, a few gluten-free tortilla chips by R.W. Garcia with a ChiChi’s Salsa Snacker for dipping (they are on Hormel Foods Gluten-Free product list), and some Yummy Earth Gummy Bears.
*A Few Gluten-Free Chips:
Michael Season’s is our personal favorite brand of gluten-free potato chips (we like the lightly salted varieties) and cheese puffs (white cheddar is our fave). I am eager to find some of the Baked Multigrain Chips (they look like my old favorite, Sun Chips)!
We also enjoy the New York Style Risotto Chips (these also remind me of Sun Chips), and I am on the hunt for the new EatSmart Naturals line by Snyder’s of Hanover. Check out the EatSmart Naturals gluten-free offerings (just be sure to click on the certified gluten-free link in the left sidebar, not all of the products in this line are gluten-free).
The Food Should Taste Good brand of chips are all certified gluten-free. Our personal favorite is the Sweet Potato, have you tried these yet? Yum!
Another favorite of my kids are the Arico Foods Cassava Chips, a great alternative to the potato chip!
The Frito-Lay website has several links to product lists that are suitable* for special diets. For a shortcut, here are the direct links to the Frito-Lay gluten-free product list and the gluten-free/casein-free product list.
*Important note about Frito-Lay products: while they may not contain gluten and/or casein ingredients (per the above lists), they are not made in a dedicated facility or on dedicated lines (although the lines are cleaned between batches, some residue may get left behind).
Just in case this is helpful to anyone: my personal guideline is to limit how often we consume Frito-Lay chips due to the risk of cross-contamination (I apply this rule to ALL processed/packaged foods that are not certified gluten-free, regardless of the brand). I try to reserve products like these for when there isn’t a safer option available (as an “atypical” celiac, I am painfully aware that just because one might not experience any obvious symptoms when exposed to gluten, does not mean an immune response is not occurring anyway). The best any of us can do is try and reduce our risk whenever possible.
What is your favorite gluten-free chip?
The past two days have been a bit of a roller coaster ride for me as I’ve been preparing to set Luke up with a safe environment at preschool. Preschool is a dietary-restricted parent’s worst nightmare! Gluten and food allergens are EVERYWHERE and not just in the popular processed kid fare department (have I told you lately how much I hate Goldfish crackers??).
After meeting Luke’s WONDERFUL new teacher yesterday, I found myself on a desperate scavenger hunt looking for:
- A gallon of Elmer’s Glue (one needs the gallon size for frequent “flubber” making and his school does not use Elmer’s glue, which I know is gluten-free. I haven’t heard back from the company that makes the School Smart brand of art supplies yet, but I will let you know the gluten-free status when I do),
- 400 Gazillion pounds of cheap rice flour (so I can make gluten-free, dairy-free play dough for the class),
and…
- Frantically looking for a case of not too hideously expensive gluten-free oats for the “tactile stimulation table.”
$@*#! WHY DO THEY HAVE TO PUT GLUTEN IN EVERYTHING?!
*sigh*
Thank you for allowing me to get that off my chest, I feel much better now and I am ready to move forward with a smile on my face!
The following recipe for dill dip is the one my mom made while I was growing up and even though it is naturally gluten-free, I tweaked it anyway to make it healthier (my husband is beginning to fear that I might “tweak” him next…and I just might at the rate I’m going!).
I also make a dairy-free version of this dip for Luke, subbing out the sour cream with So Delicious plain coconut milk yogurt. The dairy-free version is sweeter tasting than the dairy version, but that’s just the nature of the beast. Luke likes it and that’s all that really matters, right?
Dill Dip
3/4 cup Sour Cream (I now use Fage Fat-Free Plain Greek Yogurt which has 20 grams of protein per 8-oz. serving and is certified gluten-free).
3/4 cup Mayonnaise (I use a low-fat olive oil mayo, which has less than half the fat of regular mayo).
2 tsp. Dried Parsley Flakes
1 Tbs. Fresh Minced Onion
1 tsp. Seasoned Salt (Lawry’s is gluten-free, or you can make your own)
1 1/2 tsp. Dried Dill Weed (I grew up using dried dill weed, but just this summer I discovered that fresh dill is DEFINITELY the way to go! Dried dill really doesn’t have any taste whatsoever compared to fresh dill).
- Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight until the flavors develop.
- Serve with your favorite fresh-cut raw veggies and enjoy!
Serve with your favorite funny veggies!
The boys got a kick out of purple bell peppers this summer, Sam even developed an affinity for raw purple cauliflower (and the answer is no, Luke did not eat the purple cauliflower…he hid it in his underwear. Imagine my surprise during a potty training session)!
Whoever said fruits and veggies are boring, must never have been to a farmer’s market!
A few other things:
- Kim from Cook It Allergy Free is doing a giveaway for Ricki Heller’s (of Diet, Dessert and Dogs) new cookbook, “Sweet Freedom,” which is filled with recipes for wheat-free, dairy-free, egg-free and refined-sugar free treats! Did you know that Sweet Freedom is one of Ellen Degeneres’s recommended cookbooks?
- Have you joined Dr. Rodney Ford’s new Facebook group, “Gluten Free Planet” yet? Come on, join the movement with me!
- Cybele Pascal shared her recipe for Vegan and Soy-Free Chocolate Pudding on WholeLiving.com (Cybele’s recipe is also peanut and tree-nut free, unlike the recent recipe I shared using MimicCreme). Woo-Hoo! Chocolate pudding for everyone!
- Lastly, I am so unbelievably excited for a “mom’s weekend off” field trip that I am about to go on this Friday. I will be heading to Seattle to attend the International Food Bloggers Conference!
The best part for me is that many of my gluten-free blogging heroes will be there too, including a certain Gluten Free Girl and her Chef!!! As if that weren’t enough, on Sunday, Shauna and Danny will be preparing a delicious gluten-free meal for all the GF bloggers that are attending!!!!! I mean really, is that an opportunity of a lifetime or what?!
Want to know who else is going to be there?
Shirley from Gluten Free Easily
Jeanne from Four Chickens
Kim from Cook It Allergy Free
Diane from The W.H.O.L.E. Gang
Carrie from Ginger Lemon Girl
Carol from Simply Gluten Free
Dr. Jean Layton from Gluten-Free Doctor Recipes
Wendy from Celiacs in the House
Melissa from Gluten Free For Good
Alexa from Lexie’s Kitchen
Karen from Cook4Seasons
Ali from The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
Now, if only I can keep myself from being a total groupie…I better pack some paper bags in case I hyperventilate when I meet these phenomenal women (they are pretty much the equivalent of rock stars to me).
I will do a blog post giving you all the fun details and photos as soon as I return; but while I’m there, I will be sharing frequent updates on my Facebook page and on Twitter, so you will have to “Like” me and/or “Follow” me if you want to find out sooner if I make an *$$ out of myself!
Okay, let’s just address this upfront. “Say whaaa?“
Well, there is a very big NEED for gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free cheese slices and I can’t seem find a commercial one anywhere! I got excited the other day when I found some “cheese” that looked like it would fit the bill perfectly BUT then (there’s always a but, isn’t there?), I flipped it over and read the ingredient label: casein (milk protein):
Is it just me, or does that make about as much sense as adding gluten to rice bread??
So, since Luke recently tested positive for anti-casein antibodies, I’ve now found myself seemingly back at square one, just like when I was handed my celiac walking papers 5 years ago and having no idea what I would be eating for the rest of my life (only with a much better attitude!).
Most things are easily tweaked to be dairy-free, well, everything except cheese! Add to that dilemma, I try to avoid soy at all costs (not because of an allergy, but because my mom is a breast cancer survivor and any added estrogen freaks me out).
Luke’s new preschool also has strict guidelines for snack time, and each snack has to be low in sugar and contain a protein. While I think this is great, their primary suggestion was cheese. I am thankful that he does not go to a peanut/tree-nut free school, because I would not have all the nut butters to fall back on and while I have a great homemade beef jerky recipe, I’d rather not send meat for every snack!
Enter my life motto: “where there is a will, there must be a way,” (it’s just a matter of finding it)!
When I stumbled across an out-of-print cookbook on Amazon called “Make Your Own Convenience Foods“ by Don and Joan German, I just had to order it. The tag line of the book is “How to make chemical-free foods that are fast, simple and economical.”
The cookbook is something of a “Back to the Future” time capsule and politically correct, it is not!
I suppose we would fall into the “invalid” group, LOL!
This cookbook has all sorts of crazy recipes that can be easily tweaked to fit one’s particular dietary restrictions. There are recipes for “Gee Whiz,” (Cheez Whiz), bologna, “Lecithin Pan Coating,” which is a non-stick spray, so you could make your own non-stick spray with Sunflower Lecithin (instead of soy) AND…
There is even a recipe for “Extended Butter” which I presume is a margarine. So for folks that are corn-free (but not dairy-free), you can easily make your own corn-free buttery spread! I am curious if it would work to sub the butter called for in the recipe with palm shortening and just add some butter extract/flavoring to it (assuming it’s corn-free) for a dairy-free and corn-free buttery spread??
This cookbook is the perfect example of why I affectionately call myself a “glutadoodle!” Living a healthy, dietary-restricted life in a world of processed food can make one a little wacky (in a good way, mind you), so why not embrace it and have some fun?
Okay, before I share the recipe there are a few things I need to mention, because I think this recipe still needs some tweaking (and I could use some help)!
- While my tweaks make it dairy-free, it is not vegan because of the gelatin. I am wondering if pectin would work, but I fear that the “cheese” may end up with a fruity aftertaste. I was also thinking that agar might be a good alternative, or even xanthan gum (I used this as a substitute for gelatin in a recipe for corn-free marshmallows last January. I found the idea to use xanthan gum in a super cool downloadable (and free) e-book called “Texture-A Hydrocolloid Recipe Collection,” I definitely encourage you to check it out and tap into your inner “food scientist!”).
- I subbed the instant non-fat powdered milk with powdered rice milk and it did lend a slightly sweet taste to the end product. I can’t seem to find a dairy-free/casein-free powdered milk that is not sweet. I am wondering if there is something else that would work instead, maybe even just replacing the powdered milk and water altogether (and just using a very hot dairy-free milk instead?), or replacing it with a gluten-free flour/starch (since I am not a chemist, I have no idea what purpose the powdered milk serves. If I knew, that would help narrow down the potential substitutes!).
- The “processed” dairy-free cheese turned out on the soft side, not really like American cheese slices or even Velveeta. The consistency reminded me more of a cheddar cheese spread, like Kraft’s Old English, which is okay, because having something to spread on a cracker is much easier and less messy than sprinkling on some Daiya vegan shreds (I am really hoping that a sliced cheese is next on Daiya’s “to-do” list!).
I will share the original recipe with my dairy-free tweaks next to it (the recipe is for a 2-lb. bar of cheese, so I only made 1/3 of it just in case it bombed; Daiya is not cheap!) so experiment away (and if you figure out a way to improve it, please let me know)!
If you are not dairy-free, but are dye-free, you could just follow the original recipe and use white cheddar cheese to make a food coloring free Velveeta-style cheese!
American Cheese
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. Grated Mild Cheddar Cheese (I used 8-oz. of Daiya Cheddar Shreds)
1 1/2 cups Very Hot Water (I used 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. Instant Nonfat Dry Milk (I used 3 Tbs. Powdered Rice Milk)
1/2 Envelope Unflavored Gelatin (1 1/2 tsp.) (I used 1/2 tsp.)
Directions:
Because your blender will not handle all of the ingredients at once (a Vitamix will hold all of the ingredients but they weren’t around in 1978!), make the cheese according to the following directions:
- In a blender or food processor put 1/2 cup very hot water, 3 Tbs. Instant nonfat dry milk and 1/2 tsp. gelatin.
- Whip until the gelatin is dissolved.
- Quickly add 1/2 pound of the grated cheese and blend until well combined.
- Pour into an 8 x 4 x 2 1/2 inch loaf pan that has been lined with plastic wrap or parchment paper (since I made a smaller batch, I used a mini loaf pan).
- Repeat this process two more times, until all of the ingredients have been used and the loaf pan is filled.
- Cover the pan with more plastic wrap and chill overnight before unmolding. Keep cold and slice as needed.
Like I said, the recipe could still use some tweaking (for dairy-free and vegan), but I figured I would go ahead and share the recipe, so we could make this a collaborative project! If you find something that works really well, please let me know and I will update this post (or if you are a blogger and post the recipe with your tweaks, let me know and I will link up to you from here)!
Glutadoodles Unite!
Yeah, I am definitely off my rocker…
Gluten-Free Sopaipillas. Fluffy “pillows” of fried dough, drizzled with sweet honey…oh, how I never thought this day would come!!
Why is this such a big deal to me, you ask? Well, I live in New Mexico, the birthplace of sopaipillas and they are as commonplace in New Mexican restaurants as bread baskets are in Italian restaurants! Sopapillas are typically served sweet with with honey; or savory, by stuffing them with various enchilada-type fillings.
I have spent the past several months trying to make my own gluten-free sopaipillas and I have tried numerous recipes and different flour blends, only to be disappointed with the end result: flat, hard “Tempur-Pedic pillows” of fried dough!
Is it just me, or do you ever feel like some gluten-free flour blends may as well just “hit you over the head with a rolling pin?”
I had to do some research on sopaipillas and I learned that the temperature of the oil plays a very important role in the desired “pillowy-ness” of the fried dough. If the oil is too cool or too hot there will be no “poof.” Of all the flour blends I’ve tried, the taste test winner belonged to my personal favorite: Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour. **Just to be clear, I am not affiliated with Better Batter in anyway, nor do they pay me to promote their product, nor do I earn a commission if someone buys their products because of my blog. I just really love it!
If you haven’t heard of or tried Better Batter yet, let me tell you a little bit about it. The following is from the Better Batter website (my emphasis added):
Approved for use in diet: GFCF, Kosher [OU-Pareve], Vegetarian/Vegan, Feingold Stages I and II
Ingredients: Rice and Brown Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Potato Flour, Pectin*, Xanthan Gum
*Lemon Derivative
Allergen Advisory:
Shared Equipment with: tree nuts (but they are working hard to find a solution to this)
Better Batter Products are Free of: gluten, dairy, egg, soy, peanut, sesame, seafood (fish and shellfish), GMO
**ELISA Tested (batch AND third party lab) Free of : Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Soy**
I have been doing a little bit of math over the past couple of days to add to Tia’s (of Glügle Gluten Free) recent post on Gluten-Free Bisquick. I thought this was a great post and Tia made some very good points that personally hit home with me, and I will add my two cents in a moment. But first, let’s make some gluten-free sopaipillas!
I adapted the following recipe from one I found on allrecipes.com (I cut the recipe in half):
Gluten-Free Sopaipillas
2 cups Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour
2 tsp. Baking Powder (I did not cut this amount in half, the extra baking powder can be quite helpful with gluten-free flours at times).
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Tbs. Shortening (I used Spectrum)
3/4 cup Very Warm Water
Oil for Frying
- In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt then cut in the shortening.
- Stir in warm water; mix until dough is smooth.
- Cover and let stand for 20 minutes. This is a good time to start heating the oil.
- Roll out on floured board until 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick.
- Cut into 3 inch squares.
- Heat oil in deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). (Use a thermometer to make sure the temperature is EXACT. If the oil is too cool, the sopapillas will not puff up and they will turn out soggy. If the oil is too hot, they won’t puff up and they will turn out hard as a rock).
- Fry until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels and serve hot.
Photo Tutorial:
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
Cut in Shortening.
Add warm water.
Cover the dough with a towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
Roll out the dough to 1/8 – 1/4 inch thickness.
Cut dough into 3″ x 3″ squares.
Add dough to 375° F. oil.
Fry until golden brown on each side. It is SO COOL to watch them puff up!!
Serve warm, drizzled with honey for a traditional New Mexican treat or add some flare with a dusting of powdered sugar, hot fudge sauce or make these a main meal and stuff them with your favorite fillings! Check out this video with Guy Fieri of Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives, for some inspiration!
Okay, so back to the topic that Tia at Glügle Gluten Free recently blogged on. Tia posed the following question:
With all of the talk about how expensive gluten-free products are, why are people choosing a more expensive one because of the name?
Tia was referring to the cost of Gluten-Free Bisquick. I mentioned something about the cost in my recent review, and while I paid less than Tia did for the GF Bisquick at my local Super Walmart ($3.98 for a 16-oz. box), I had to modify if it to make it more like the yellow box Bisquick (wanting to put the “quick” in the GF Bisquick, LOL!). While adding the shortening to the mix worked great for the products I tested it on (for my review), shortly thereafter I made biscuits and they came out flat and hard as a rock. I re-made the biscuits with the Better Batter Pancake and Baking mix, and just like I’ve always thought, they remind me much more of the Bisquick biscuits I grew up on (see my Better Batter Gluten-Free Biscuits post from February 2009).
So, I decided to do a little cost analysis of my own and here are my calculations per ounce of gluten-free flour (store cost) to add to Tia’s list:
Gluten Free Bisquick (at $3.98 per 16-oz. box): $0.25/oz
Better Batter Gluten-Free Pancake and Baking Mix (at $6.37 per 20-oz. box): $0.31/oz BUT Better Batter is ready to use, no need to add shortening (which adds more to the cost of the GF Bisquick).
Here is another comparison:
King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour ($7.95 per 24-oz. box): $0.33/oz (FYI: The King Arthur GF Flour DOES NOT contain Xanthan Gum, so you will need to figure in the added cost for that.
I have to admit that I was a bit miffed at the cost of the King Arthur GF Flour the second I read the ingredient list: Specialty Flour Blend (Rice Flour, Tapioca Flour), Potato Starch, Whole Grain Brown Rice Flour.
Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch and Potato Starch.
I don’t know about you, but in my experience those are the least expensive gluten-free flours out there and with no Xanthan Gum added (which is not cheap mind you), why are they charging $7.95 for a 1lb. 8 oz box of flour? I will make an assumption here, but I think we are paying for the name brand King Arthur Flour. Doing the math, I figured out that 5 lbs. of King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour would cost $26.50, and you would still need to buy the xanthan gum!
Better Batter Gluten-Free Flour ($18.50 per 5-lb. bag [80 ounces] + $7.50 for shipping on Amazon): $0.32/oz AND it includes the Xanthan Gum.
**I personally buy Better Batter directly from them (by the 25-lb. bag) and it reduces my cost even more: $0.18/oz. (and that includes the flat shipping rate of $7.50 per order).
While I understand (and feel) the excitement about all the new gluten-free products coming to market (and I can’t ignore that there’s a sentimental factor for the name brands I grew up on); I think it is very important to remember the smaller companies that have been making safe gluten-free products out of sheer love and passion (and quite often because the entrepreneur has celiac disease or knows a close friend or relative with it), long before the gluten-free diet went mainstream.
These are the companies that were here before the bigger companies wanted a piece of the “gluten-free pie,” and these are the companies that will be hit hardest by the current economy.
Large companies can get loans from the bank, can raise money in the stock market, or even get a government bailout; but it is the small companies (who can’t do any of this right now), who need the most help (trust me, I know lots of small business owners in this very boat right now). In many instances, these folks have put their entire net worth on the line to develop these products for us and our families; and as far as I’m concerned, as long as the product works for me and the price is not much higher (if at all), I think I will be sticking with the products from companies that took the biggest risk early on. They were there when I needed them, and now I want to return the favor.
Okay, I will step down off my own soap box now, but I would love to hear your personal thoughts about this too!
Thank you to all who entered the “Summer Of Easy Gourmet Entertaining With Chavrie Goat Cheese” Giveaway!
I used the Random Number Generator to pick the lucky winner and that person is:
#9, Shirley!
Shirley said, “Now that’s a great giveaway! Can you believe I’ve only had homemade chevre? Our friends have goats and always bring goat cheese, yogurt, etc. to support group meetings. Lucky me, for sure, but at first, I thought you’d spelled the name wrong when I read the title. LOL I didn’t even know this product existed. Silly me. I’d go for the souffle I think … such a classic.”
Congratulations Shirley! I will email you for your shipping address and get your prize out to you.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, tomorrow is my sweet husband’s 37th birthday, so we are going to go have some fun!
xo
I love goat cheese. Its creamy texture and tangy mouth-feel is the perfect complement for a variety of appetizers, grilled meats, salads and desserts. Goat cheese pairs perfectly with beets, raspberries and strawberries. In fact, this has been one of my favorite ways to enjoy Chavrie® goat cheese this summer (I am in my infancy of enjoying beets, and raw beets with balsamic vinegar and goat cheese are my limitation at the moment).
And yes, Chavrie Fresh Goat Cheese is gluten-free!
Strawberry Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette:
Shredded Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Fresh Raspberry Vinaigrette:
I did a twist of the shredded beet salad with raspberry vinaigrette and turned it into a gluten-free sandwich wrap with Boar’s Head Low Sodium Turkey meat:
I recently tried a recipe I found on the Chavrie website for Goat Cheese Hummus (I made my own Hummus and subbed the cilantro for fresh rosemary, YUM!) and served with grilled gluten-free pita bread (I love this pita bread, you can read my review of it here):
So why am I telling you all of this? Well, August just so happens to be National Goat Cheese Month and to celebrate, I have an exciting giveaway for one lucky reader!
The folks over at Chavrie® Goat Cheese are sponsoring this fabulous giveaway and here is what the prize includes:
Summer of Gourmet Entertaining with Chavrie (Estimated Value $100):
- Vintage Wood Chip & Dip from Pottery Barn (valued at $50)
- Chavrie Fresh Goat Cheese coupons
- Chavrie’s “For the Love of Goat Cheese “ Cookbook
- Chavrie recipes
Chavrie kindly sent me a free entertaining package too (which is how I know it’s FABULOUS)! The Pottery Barn Vintage Wood Chip and Dip is a beautiful serving piece to use at all of your dinner parties. I have received numerous compliments on it at several of my recent gatherings.
To enter this giveaway:
Simply visit the recipe section of the Chavrie website and report back about which recipe looks most intriguing to you!
Bonus entry Opportunities (completely optional but if you do any, please be sure to leave a separate comment for each completed task, this is how I keep track of entries):
- “Like” Chavrie Fresh Goat Cheese on Facebook.
- “Follow” @Chavrie on Twitter.
- “Like” Adventures of a Gluten Free Mom on Facebook.
- “Follow” @Adventuresgfmom on Twitter.
- “Tweet” about this giveaway on Twitter and include a link back to this post (be sure to include @adventuresgfmom and @Chavrie in your Tweet).
- “Share” the link to this giveaway on your Facebook page.
- Mention this giveaway in a blog post and include a link back to this post.
I will use the Random Number Generator to pick the winner on Friday, August 20th, 2010, Good Luck!
