gluten-free

mini fetish

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People prefer the mini version of anything.  Mini Coopers, mini people (TLC will not stop showing World’s Smallest Children), mini quiche etc.  So for yesterday’s Greenpoint Food Market I decided to capitalize on the mini fetish.  Maybe it’s that one thinks they’re consuming less calories, or maybe it’s just that satisfaction of disregarding utensils (you know forks just get in the way) and popping that bite size dessert in your mouth.  Regardless, I’m definitely devoting more baking time to mini goodies.

For this go-around I made black and white cookies, mini chocolate cupcakes with mocha liqueur frosting, and mini lemon raspberry muffins.  Learning my lesson from the first GFM I made sample-size versions of everything (including mini black ‘n whites) so I wasn’t  constantly cutting up the larger versions.  All-in-all though the market was much smaller than the launch a few weeks ago, I met some amazing people and got the word out about my gluten-free goodies..

Thank you to all the lovely friends and patrons that came out to support this DIY venture!

GFM Redux!

My first round at the Greenpoint Food Market was such a success! 

You Can’t Eat Bread!? featured: peach cupcakes with bourbon creamcheese icing (definitely the best-seller), zucchnini & pineapple cake with walnut cream icing, fig & plum cake,and salted white chocolate oatmeal cookies.    IMG_1126

Word got out quickly that gluten-free goodies were at the market and I soon had Brooklynites coming in requesting my baked goods! I was so flattered and excited to be able to make fellow gluten-free market patrons happy.  I was equally happy to have such a good response from patrons without a gluten intolerance.

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Much to my delight, my friends, ever the supportive group, stopped by to sample my wares and peruse the other amazing vendors at the GFM.

So…here goes round 2!  This Saturday I will again be serving up gluten-free goodies at the GFM from 12-6pm at the Church of Messiah located at 129 Russell St. between Nassau & Driggs.

Teaser: I’m on a chocolate kick right now…so you can at least expect to see chocolate cupcakes with a mocha liqueur icing and….Black & White cookies!!!

you can’t eat bread!?

It’s probably the most often heard phrase when you tell someone you’re gluten-free. 

Friend (horrified look on their face): “Wait…so…you can’t eat bread!?”

You (patient,  yet strained): “I can’t eat anything with gluten in it, so all regular bread, pasta, pizza, and baked goods.”

Friend: …silence…more horror….

Then you rush into the litany of what you can eat.  Quinoa! Rice! Corn!  Which to most does not seem as exciting or delicious as an honest to-goodness piece of sourdough toast or slice of chocolate cake.  But you know what?  It absolutely can be. 

When I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2006 I was determined not to live the rest of my life only remembering how amazing that perfect peanut butter cookie tasted.  So I started reading gluten-free blogs, researching alternative baking options, and most of all, getting myself covered in gluten-free flour while experimenting in my kitchen.  As a result, I have a pretty firm cache of recipes tucked under my belt, and a lot of positive feedback from fellow celiacs who have sampled my gluten-free delectables.

So, welcome to my gluten-free blog!  I will be posting recipes, NYC based gluten-free events, relevant blogs, websites and media.