So I’m on my fourth week of my self-imposed gluten abstinence program and things have been going very well. With the exception of sneaking a big mouthful of one of my favorite Portland brews, I haven’t wavered. Here’s a picture of the awesome sauteed rainbow chard and garlic topped quinoa with black refried beans and crazy-hot thai sauce I whipped up last night.

One thing I noticed this week is how easy we have it here in Portland with respect to gf food options. First of all, there is a natural food store chock full of gf products on just about every corner. I went to New Season’s Market for some produce. Cutting through the cereal aisle, I got the notion to see if they had a gf cold cereal. They did. In fact, they had so many that I couldn’t decide so I opted to just have some fruit and yogurt. On my way to the register, I passed a dizzying array of gf flours and baking mixes from one of the world’s most remarkable purveyors. That store really raises the bar, but many other retailers in PDX stock a healthy selection of gf goods.

When I compare that with my recent shopping experience in Kentucky (from which I originally sprang), it’s night and day. In Kentucky I couldn’t find a GF Product in any of the massive supermarkets I visited. Nowhere. I asked an aisle clerk where the gluten free products elicited an interminable “uhhhhhhhhh…”

So I’ve got it easy here living gluten free. Plus, it’s elective and won’t last forever. And I’ve got all the gf grains a gluten intolerant boy could ever dream of. I know, I know, I’ll never really know what it’s like. This is to living with CD as car-camping is to homelessness. Still, it has opened my eyes a bit which is the whole point of this make-believe.

As I mentioned in my gluten free update, I entered a bake off contest at my local vegetarian organization’s monthly potluck. I realized as the potluck began that my food choices were a lot more limited than others and unfortunately I was one of the last in line so my choices were even more limited since many food options were gone by the time I got to them. Luckily, people are really good at including a recipe card with the ingredients so sorting out what I could and could not eat was fairly easy.

There were about 80 people in attendance and 15 entries in the bake off to be voted on including my Cheesecake Cherries Brownies. There was a panel of judges to decide on winners for the categories best tasting, most original, and healthiest treats. Then, all 80 people in the crowd got to try the entries and vote for their favorite. I was announced as the winner for the most original recipe and I also got the most votes! The people voting my gluten free recipe as their favorite was so rewarding.

I don’t have my winning recipe available, but here is one of my favorite gluten free recipes. It is from our Organic Coconut Flour package and has a great texture and taste!

Picture courtesy of The Gluti Girls blog.

Vanilla Almond Sugar Cookies

1 cup Evaporated Cane Juice
1/2 cup Margarine (Non-hydrogenated)
1/3 cup Milk (Soy, Rice, Cow)
2 tsp. Vanilla
3/4 cup White Rice Flour
1/3 cup Organic Coconut Flour
2 Tbsp. Potato Starch
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 cup Almonds (Sliced)

Since my post last week, I haven’t had one (known) ingestion of gluten. I nearly at some tortilla chips that I assumed were safe but after a second pass at the ingredient statement, I found some white flour. To spite my faux disease, I ate a few bites of the complementary salsa with a spoon. The toughest part has been having to pass on some very tasty sweets that came my way. I sat by somewhat sullen as I watched my wife enjoy them without me.

Since, I rediscovered millet and quinoa, two great gluten free, whole grain staples as part of my GF regime, I seem to have gotten into a culinary rut with them. They’re delicious, but I’ve had quinoa/millet, beans and salad for several nights in a row. These things suit my pallet, they’re healthy, they fill me up and I know they’re safely free of gluten. I’ve enjoyed the simplicity of this repetition but I’m a little bored with it. I’m also a little tired of studying upon everything so much.

Do any of you find yourselves in ruts of comfort with familiar gf foods that you know you can trust? Is safe and boring just easier in the long run?

I am not new to restricting my diet for one reason or another. For about 13 years now I have been vegan; not eating any meat, dairy or eggs. This means reading a lot of labels and advocating for myself on a regular basis to make sure I don’t eat something I didn’t intend to. This has definitely helped me with my 6-week gluten free challenge that my naturopath suggested I do. The first two weeks was fairly easy since I was doing a 4 day juice cleanse with eating mostly vegetables the days before and after that. Now that I am able to eat my normal diet, except the gluten, it has allowed me to challenge myself to create new foods. I right away found some wheat free soy sauce so I could make tasty stir fries and sauces.

I am lucky to live in a town which is not only vegan friendly, but fairly progressive on offering gluten free options as well. I went out to dinner with friends at a new Italian restaurant and after asking, was shown many options from the menu which did not contain any gluten. I had a hard time deciding which dish to try and was happy with a spaghetti squash dish with tomato sauce and a vegetarian meatball.

The hardest part has been wanting to eat tortillas and breads, but not having the time to make my own from scratch or from one of our many mixes. I tried a prepared rice flour tortilla and was not impressed since it had no flexibility so I couldn’t even make a burrito. I did find a good selection of other gluten free prepared foods at my local natural foods store. Amy’s products offer many gluten free options which I have enjoyed and I noticed a new frozen food company called Gluten Free Café. I am sure the world of gluten free options will continue to grow from both our company and others.

Hopefully next week I will have more time to play in the kitchen. I am entering a bake-off contest next weekend and I will be making something gluten free. This will be my chance to demonstrate gluten free does not mean giving up the sweet life.

Ok, so I’m busted. After my accidental soy sauce ingestion last week, I felt sharply tuned to my task and determined to be on the lookout for hidden sources of gluten. I market over 50 gluten free Bob’s Red Mill gluten free products and I’ve I should be good at this. Well, I am. Knowing where gluten lurks is not my problem.

What I ran into was a social situation that made it impossible to refuse a dish that I knew well contained gluten. It was orzo and my friend Andy had prepared it with an amazing array of herbs and dry Italian cheeses. He was so proud to serve it and I knew he wouldn’t understand why I couldn’t eat any of the creamy mound of pasta he’d already piled on my plate. I ate it all and it was delicious, but I’m feeling a little bummed about flubbing up my trial.

Shamed, I confessed to my friend Nellie. Nellie has celiac disease and has severe reactions when exposed to even the tiniest bit of gluten. So I was really surprised when she told me that she has also succumbed to gluten willfully in certain situations. Does that happen to any of you? How do you cope when you’re invited to dinners, parties, etc?

So I messed up but I’m back on track. That was Saturday and here I am on Wednesday night and I haven’t had any gluten at all. Thanks for the supportive messages I got from y’all. If you have tips or experiences to share, I would love to hear them.

Right away I noticed the big sacks of Bob’s Red Mill products in the tiny kitchen, which is visible to all who enter the restaurant. Four loaves of bread were rising delectably on the counter. The decor includes photos of toasters and shelves of actual old toasters.

I drive by this place every day on my way to work, and it never looks open. “They need a neon OPEN sign,” I told my friends. But I soon realized they don’t need one as they are always packed, with folks waiting in line.

I talked with owner Donald Kotler, who loves our products (that’s him in the photo). He said they’ll start serving dinner three times a week (Wed.-Friday) as of March 1. Currently, their hours are 8:00 am to 2:00 pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Toast uses local, seasonal, fresh and natural products. Their breads and pastries are freshly baked, and they grind their meat in house.

A woman at the table next to me (it’s easy to talk to your neighbor in a place as cozy as this) asked if I were a restaurant reviewer. When I told her no, I worked at Bob’s, she said she loves our store and has been meaning to try our cafe. I encouraged her to do so.

The biscuits are huge and flaky. My water glass was kept full. And I admit I enjoyed breakfast so much that I went back for lunch that same day.