Thursday, September 18, 2008

Gluten-free tea on the Queen Mary...


Yes, more pics from the Queen Mary II. They made a gluten-free tea for me! No scones (waaaah) but they did make cucumber sandwiches, tomato sandwiches, and ham sandwiches (it was a platter of them...my reaction was OMG!) and two kinds of cake.

I was so pampered there! I'm amazed that I lost weight.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Moths! Augh!

So you may be wondering why no gluten-free posts... I had an invasion of moths while I was off being treated like a queen... I went to bake a cake last week, and EVERYTHING had bugs. The almond flour, the potato flour, the quinoa, the everything... and it all got tossed. Now this would be an amazing opportunity buy new flours and tell you about the process...but first, I want to find containers to store them in...

And I want to let you know of a quick dessert I came up with tonight, when I came home from class STARVING. White rice, coconut milk, a dab of cream and some vanilla. YUM! It would be even better in the future with some mango...

I had wanted to review a cookbook I found at the library, but I haven't made anything from it, due to the lack of flours as mentioned above... I have some comments though.

The cookbook is:

http://www.amazon.com/You-Wont-Believe-Its-Gluten-Free/dp/1569242526/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1221532161&sr=8-1

I did learn one thing from here which I did not know. That a lot of charcoal has a wheat binder. Lovely. However, there are a number of places where a celiac could get into big trouble from her book. She suggests getting things like buckwheat noodles from an Asian market. EVERY buckwheat noodle I have found has regular wheat mixed in. And its too easy to have problems at an Asian market unless you are going there with someone who reads the language and can translate... She suggests, in a number of recipes, using bouillion cubes. GLUTEN alert! A lot of broths and every bouillion cube I have seen (now granted, I've stopped even looking at them now, so maybe there is a new brand out there), as well as Penzeys soup bases (waaaaah) have wheat...

While there are a few recipes I'd like to try, its all very much the flavors of modern America. Lots of muffins, 'kid food', even imitation condensed 'cream of' soups to use in your favorite casserole...

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Gluten-free on the Queen Mary II






Ok, so the II doesn't rhyme...heh. The rest works. I was quite impressed, for the most part, with the service on the boat. The first evening wasn't as good, I had a small exposure with dessert, and I was a little afraid that I was going to get meals with no sauces, dressings, etc. I had introduced myself to the assistant maitre d' on boarding, but that wasn't enough. It was only after I ended up introducing myself to the Maitre D (I had to request a different table, because my initial dining companions only spoke German) that the service became amazing.

At dinner, every evening, they would bring me the lunch and dinner menus for the next day. I would mark off what I wanted (my tablemates actually quite enjoyed this, because they got a preview of the coming attractions), and then they would make it. I played it safe until mid-voyage, because of nervousness due to the first dinner, and then ordered something wild and crazy, a pasta dish.. it was GORGEOUS! The picture is up on top..

I wish, in retrospect, that I'd thrown caution to the winds earlier, on that trip. You end up having to be so careful in daily life that even in safe places, its hard to relax. Its hard to leave it up to others.... They started bringing me gluten-free bread, petit fours, I even had a gluten-free English tea. (The only thing I wish they could have done was come up with a scone I could have)...

There are safe travel options, and if you are clear and upfront, you will get the most amazing service. Real food, and real cruise overfeeding (I still managed to lose weight though...)