Showing posts with label Gluten Free. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gluten Free. Show all posts

Friday, May 17, 2013

Favorite Things

Here are a few things I've been majorly crushing on lately that you should probably be aware of. 

How did I not hear about The Skimm until last week?! Kind of amazing. I always enjoy receiving in digest form anything I don't have time or patience for, and appreciate when it can be done in a humorous way. If The Skimm can make me chuckle about the DOJ violating the AP, they're worth a shout out. The only mistake I've found so far was their questioning why Bea Arthur posed for a controversial topless portrait, when the very article they linked to stated that she didn't actually pose for the painting. I'm not sure who spends their time imagining what old ladies' boobs look like, but to each their own, I suppose, and I'm not mad at The Skimm for such a tiny oversight.


I bought my Ray Ban Folding Wayfarer sunnies last year, but am still appreciating them to the fullest this year. I swoon for the big Jackie O throwbacks as much as the next girl... they're just so chic! But they come with massive cases that are only portable when carrying a massive purse, which I also swoon for, but recognize as impractical in certain situations. Have you tried to go on a sailboat or to a fair or on a bike ride with a tote large enough to be confused with carry on luggage? Sometimes you need something more like a small cross-body messenger, and if you also need sunnies, you need small sunnies. These fold up. Twice. And fit in a tiny case that also fits in your tiny bag. It's love.

I'm forever discovering wonderful services, places and things on Living Social, but this particular discovery was via Gilt City. I paid $40 for $80 worth organic groceries from Luke's Local, and it was worth every penny! Orders are placed through Good Eggs, where you can purchase goods from a variety of local suppliers. I got the seasonal veggies, fruit, salad greens, herb mix, honey, gluten free sourdough bread, pizza dough, cheese of the month, lunch and breakfast burritos, and a meal kit for chicken enchiladas. While some of the produce wasn't stuff I'd normally choose, it was all fresh and beautiful. My favorite was definitely the gluten free sourdough warmed up and smothered in the honey... so, so tasty. I opted to pick up my goods, but for just a couple bucks they deliver as well. Pick up sounded more practical but trying to park on Mission Street to pick up groceries from a bar was not ideal, especially considering the fender bender I endured. Not Luke's fault. Just not ideal.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Gluten Free Cupcakes

I just realized I never posted about these gluten free cupcakes I made for my coworker's birthday! 

Okay, well, let me just say before you get too proud of me, that I didn't make them from scratch. I had tossed the idea around but wound up deciding that since gluten free baking requires entirely different ingredients from traditional baking, none of which were previously in my kitchen, and because I only had one evening with which to throw these together, there simply wasn't time to buy all the necessary goodies and risk the first batch not turning out. There is a wonderful little gluten free grocery store near my work where I managed to find a cake mix. I got the yellow cake mix and added some almond extract for flavor, tossed out the frosting mix that came with it and made a basic sugar frosting mix with vanilla extract. I topped off the cupcakes with fresh blueberries and refrigerated them overnight. 

To make the "Happy Birthday" banner I used a toothpick, scrapbooking paper and a gold paint pen. I used one level of a cupcake tower and paper shreds for presentation.

I'm definitely inspired to do a bit of ingredient shopping next time I can get over to that shop so I can start practicing gluten free baking from scratch.