Betty Crocker

Just as I thought, when I went to the Met Food supermarket on my corner, they did not have the GF Betty Crocker mixes. It is a small store, so I expected as much. Next, I'll check my local Key Food but I'm not too hopeful there either. I'll have to go to Stop and Shop or Shop Rite.
I was going to make pancakes with canned sliced pears and melted chocolate this morning but it turns out I had used all the chips for cookies. So I improvised. Since I had already opened the can of pears and just put the pears and a little syrup. It was fine, in fact I find the chocolate a little to sweet lately for my taste buds.
I have been eating Activia yogurt for lunch at work and it is very good. I really do think that it helps my stomach.

Cinco de Mayo

I really do love Mexican food and enchiladas are one of my favorites. However, I have not attempted to make them at home. So I went with tacos. I use Goya pink beans (canned is quick and easy). I cut up a green pepper, white onion and garlic. I saute the pepper, then add onion, last garlic. Next, the sofrito and seasonings. Throw in the beans and tomato sauce and 15 minutes later-done. I use corn tacos, salsa and extra sharp cheddar cheese. It is so good, I enjoy it so much. I did not have a margarita but that would have been a very nice addition. I wish I had remembered to take a picture.
I also bought the Starbucks gluten free orange cake and it was very good. Perfect, in fact.

Lasagna

Today I made lasagna. I did not have to make the sauce, that was already made and it had sausage and fresh basil in it. And it was a homemade sauce, I do not use jar sauce. I used Tinkyada lasagna, and it was good. It will taste even better tomorrow when all the flavors come together even more. It is always a little messy the first day. I can not resist picking while I'm preparing it, so it is a little bit of a dairy overload. I guess I should have thought to take the photo before we ate!

Lunch was chickpea salad with onion and cucumber, salsa and the balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil to taste. Of course, pepper and a little oregano. I was going to serve the salad over arugula but I got my manicure and did not feel like stopping at the store on the way home.
Desert was Pamela's chocolate chip and walnut cookies. Two are more than enough for me.

Stomach Woes

As usual, I have good days and bad days with my stomach. However, this past week was not fun. I notice that if I over eat I feel really, really bad. Also butter bothers me, soy seems to bother me now too and I can not drink much coffee. Alcohol is just about out of the picture too. I suppose it is a combination of my sensitive stomach and being 57 but some people seem to be able to eat like horses and drink like a fish with no problems.
While I'm complaining, I might as well also say that not being exposed to computers until middle age also seems to put one at a disadvantage. My skills do not seem up to par when I go on blogs and see what others are able to do. I still have to learn how to make a tiny photo for Gluten Free Living. It is almost like having a second job to learn new things.

Muffins

I was going to attempt date nut bread sans a recipe but decided to go with date nut muffins using my Pamela's Mix. As usual the results were excellent. The dates made the muffins moist with a very nice flavor. I had 2 after dinner and I'm looking foward to breakfast as well.

GF Tabbouleh

I had never eaten tabbouleh with bulgur wheat but I did try this GF version with brown lentils. I got the recipe from one of Carol Fenster's books. It was very easy to make and I served it over arugula. I've made 3 different recipes from that one bag of lentils and while they were all decent I may not run to make them again very soon. They were certainly healthy and I do not miss the meat at dinner time. I feel good after a meal like this. I also have some clam sauce and pasta on hand so we won't go hungry.

Petit Cafe

I was walking about in lower NYC this afternoon with my aunt and we came upon Petit Cafe. The sign outside said gluten free french toast!. We had just finished lunch at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station ( cesar salad with shrimp and lump crab meat was $27.99) but we did have room for desert. They had the best chocolate walnut cookies, almost like a brownie. I was in heaven. Petit Cafe was recently blogged about by Celiac Chicks and they have been receiving visitors from all over. It is a very small place and I'm sure it is packed on the weekends. I would love to go back for the french toast, they serve it all day!