Category: Products

Product: Schär Gluten-Free Tagliatelle – $3.99+

Gluten-free foods have come a long, long way.

From breads, to crackers, to cookies, to pastas, these foods are no longer the tasteless, strange items they once were.  In fact, some companies set out to go above and beyond when it comes to the taste and the look of their food.  This is definitely something that Schär accomplishes with every one of it’s products.

I can declare that without worry…because I have sampled quite a few of their items and have been beyond pleased each time.

For my holiday dinner party, I was cooking up a delicious pasta in a white truffle butter sauce.  Since it was a creamy sauce, I decided to pair it with a wider, heartier noodle than your average spaghetti or linguini noodle.  The challenge, then, was finding something to pair with the sauce that was also gluten-free.

Thankfully, where most gluten-free pasta are limited to the most common cuts of noodle (spaghetti, fusilli, penne, lasagna), Schär provides gluten-free pasta connoisseurs with other options as well.  One of which is the wider pasta noodle – Tagliatelle.

Because of the number of guests, I ended up cooking up two boxes of the Tagliatelle, and it did wonderfully.  Nothing could be easier.  Season and boil water.  Add pasta.  Stir.  Allow to cook for 8 minutes in boiling water.  Drain.  Yes…it really is that simple.  And the noodles that emerge from the hot water taste like regular, wheat noodles.  The texture is fantastic.  Every guest (as I am the only gluten-free one among them) couldn’t tell it was gluten-free.  They weren’t surprised, since I was the chef, but they all said it tasted just like the regular stuff.  That’s high praise coming from some pretty hearty pasta eaters!

After cooking the noodles to the perfect al dente, I added them to the pan on the stove top with the white truffle butter sauce I had prepared while the noodles were cooking.  They mixed and were finished off in the pan, then plated, topped with some fresh chives and thinly shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano.

It was the perfect meal that night.  Nobody ate too much.  Everyone cleaned their plates.  And we all were able to enjoy a delicious, gluten-free pasta meal, have great conversation, and enjoy the holidays.  Nothing could be better than that.

I owe a lot of thanks to the people at Schär, for continuing to produce amazing gluten-free products.  When pasta is so amazing that no one even guesses that it’s gluten-free…then there is magic in the product.  And I am definitely enchanted by the products that this amazing company continues to offer to those who can no longer tolerate gluten.

I’m raising a pasta-filled fork to the geniuses at Schär who have made me fall in love with Italian cooking again…a whole new gluten-free way.

Product: Against The Grain Bakery Original Baguettes – $7.99+

Gluten-free breads are tricky.

Oh…they are tricky.

Especially when you are serving them to not only bread connoisseurs, but also people who do not normally eat gluten-free.  Ever.  Unless they are hanging out with you!

Welcome to my world!

Recently, with the holidays, I played hostess to my roommate’s family for a pre-Christmas celebration for me before I headed home to spend the holidays with my family.  I was to prepare a meal that everyone could sit down to and enjoy.  And in my home, that means something not only vegetarian, but also gluten-free.  Thankfully, everyone attending is aware of this.

For this holiday gathering, I decided to make a pasta dish – Tagliatelle with a White Truffle Butter Sauce.  So, while I was out shopping at Whole Foods for some of the necessary ingredients, I spotted the Against The Grain baguettes in the freezer.  I had heard a lot of good things about the products coming out of the Against the Grain Bakery line, so I threw caution to the wind and picked some up for the occasion.

Against The Grain Bakery’s mission is to provide the gluten-free community with products that use the natural products of real foods.  All the ingredients in their breads are items you would normally find in your pantry.  No weird chemicals.  No strange add-ins.  The products that are baked up by Against The Grain Bakery are all naturally gluten-free and delicious.  They certainly do not compromise taste or quality when they bake up their products.

As I was making the purchase at the grocery store, the cashier ringing me up said that he had only heard good thins about the Against The Grain baguettes.  In fact, he mentioned that a lot of people said they had a cheesy flavor to them.  I like cheese, so I was more than happy to hear this sort of endorsement of a new product I was trying.  With the purchase made, I now just had to create my meal with it.

On the day of the big get-together, I set out to cook the meal, starting, of course, by thawing one baguette for 3o minutes, per package instructions.  I sliced it up into little amuse-bouche size rounds and pre-heated the oven while I lightly brushed each slice with some olive oil and gave it a light dusting of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.  Into the oven they went for about 8 minutes or so…just long enough to toast up slightly…then…onto a plate and out to the guests they went.  No sampling ahead of time.  Trial by fire…with regular bread eaters and lovers.

I was on pins and needles when they reached for a slice to have with their gluten-free pasta dish.

And it was love at first gluten-free bite.  For real.  These baguettes are crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.  The perfect texture combination when it comes to breads.  They truly do have a cheesy flavor to them, which, upon inspection of the ingredients is brought to light by the inclusion of mozzarella cheese.  A-ha!  They are a cinch to slice, either as rounds or for use for a sandwich of sorts.  The flavor in each bite is amazing!  We were all hooked and the bread disappeared quickly from the plate, to eat on its own and to simply mop up a bit of the truffle butter sauce form the pasta dish.

When normal bread eaters can’t tell the difference, and snatch up the gluten-free bread faster than I do…then we’re on to something.

Kudos to Against The Grain Bakery for providing the gluten-free community with fine products packed with flavor!  These delicious baguettes are my favorite.  So much…that it has totally spoiled me on any other gluten-free baguette I have tried before.  Nothing else will do.  The problem is…this is a popular brand and finding somewhere that has them in stock is a bit of a challenge.  They fly off the shelves as quickly as the stores get them in.

I guess part of the enjoyment is the chase.  And when a product can stand on its own as this bread proved it could…well…it makes the hunt worth it.  I am already on the search for another baguette to enjoy with other meals.  And, I anticipate I’ll be trying other products in the Against The Grain Bakery line-up (bagels, rolls, pizzas) very soon.

If you happen to be out at the grocery store and spot these little treasures in the freezer section…whether you have to eat gluten-free or not, I encourage you to pick them up and give them a try.  But be forewarned, you will be hooked!  Seek…prepare…enjoy!  Against The Grain is doing gluten-free breads right.  And for that, I am one happy consumer…and forever fan.

Product: Bakery on Main Strawberry Shortcake Flavor Instant Oatmeal – $5.99+

There was a time in my life when I hated oatmeal.  Hated it.  Everything about it.  Then, as I became a runner, I discovered the benefits that came with eating a bowl of this hot breakfast.  In fact, oatmeal is my lunch day in and day out on work days.  The difficult part these days is finding a brand that doesn’t contain gluten.  There are some out there…and I’ve definitely sampled a few that were just bland and not up to par.

Granted, I understand the healthiest choice is a plain bowl of oats, dressed up however you choose with fruit and nuts, jam, or whatever else you might add.  Most instant versions with flavors are laden with sugars for added flavor.

While out at my natural food store, I spotted a new product on the shelves.  Being a new connoisseur of oatmeal, it was a treat worth splurging on.  Bakery on Main just released a line of instant oatmeal in three flavors: apple pie, maple multigrain muffin, and strawberry shortcake.  My rule is…if strawberries are involved…it wins.

So, I left the store, rather unexpectedly, with a box of Baker on Main’s Strawberry Shortcake flavored oatmeal.  And since I was behind on the blog, it sat for a couple weeks in my pantry without a second glance.  But, then…as I ran out of my other brand of oatmeal, the time to give this new brand a try came around.  So, I opened up the box, pulled out a packet, and headed to the office that day.

As lunchtime rolled around, my stomach began giving me the tell-tale signs of the rumblies…so off to the kitchen I went to dump the contents of the packet into a bowl, add 2/3 cup of water, and warm it up for 90 seconds.

Bakery on Main’s oatmeal is a blend of certified gluten free oats, amaranth and quinoa.  What emerges from the microwave is a hearty bowl of oatmeal.  No joke.  Comparing the texture when I stirred this to the other brands I have tried, this definitely cooks up thicker.  It smells amazing as you give it a stir, releasing that aroma of strawberries from the freeze-dried bits that are included in the packet.

The taste…fantastic.  I was so busy enjoying my food at my desk that I completely ignored my work for a moment to just savor the texture and taste.  It didn’t taste like strawberry shortcake, but the flavor had that tinge of strawberry goodness and the thickness of the cereal itself meant that I wasn’t starving an hour down the line, like I am sometimes with other brands.  This was a fantastic treat to have for lunch, one that warms me up (my office is a frozen tundra, especially in the winter months) and fills me up.  Not to mention, it smells so good as it cooks up.  I love walking past my co-workers with it and having them go, “What smells so good?”  It’s life’s little joys!

Check out your local natural food store if you are seeking some certified gluten-free oatmeal that doesn’t skimp on flavor or nutrients.  It is a hearty, wholesome bowl of awesome, spoonful after spoonful.  So, warm some up in your microwave and within seconds you can enjoy a nice bowl yourself, packed with flavor, and completely delicious.

Bakery on Main…your products win my oatmeal loving soul.  Now, to try those other delicious sounding flavors…

Product: Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo – $3.99+

Vegetarian/vegan meat-replacement products that are additionally gluten-free are not easy to find.  In fact, it’s nigh on impossible at times to find one.  Most contain gluten as companies claim it gives the right texture to their products.  Of the varieties I have been able to find, I say that these companies need to rethink this as those that I’ve tried that are gluten-free are amazing.

To add to my slowly growing list of vegetarian/vegan, gluten-free faux meat…Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo.

First of all, my area finally got a Trader Joe’s.  I had been wishing and hoping and praying for years now that we would get one.  The supermarket gods finally smiled upon me and one opened at the end of October in Louisville, Kentucky.  So, a short drive into Kentucky and I’m a happy grocery shopper.  On my first trip there, I spotted the Soy Chorizo immediately.  The first thing I noticed was the symbols showed it to be not only vegan…but also gluten-free.

It was like it was made for me.

I had some Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza Crust mix sitting in my pantry, so it was time for pizza night.  With that in mind, I made sure I picked up some of Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo for my toppings.

Here’s the interesting part of this product.  It is in a casing.  Yep…just like real sausage meat.  So, I sliced off what I was going to use of the Soy Chorizo and did as instructed by the package…removed it from the casing.  I had every expectation that I would be slicing this up to put on the pizza, but it crumbled instead.  No problem…I just gave it a scattering over my crust, topped it with my vegan cheese, and boshed it in the oven for 20 minutes to allow it to bake up to perfection.

I was so excited about this product and my expectations were not let down.  Trader Joe’s offers a fantastic product here.  The Soy Chorizo is fantastic in texture and taste.  In fact, the hit of spice is not overwhelming at all.  In fact, it’s provided a pleasant kick that other faux meat products haven’t offered.  Take that all you glutinous vegetarian products!

Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo is a hit in my books.  No strange aftertastes, not too hot, and the perfect filler for any taco, burrito, or topping for a pizza.  Honestly.  The heat element was at the right level.  The way it blended with the other toppings on my pizza (in this case, mushrooms and Daiya vegan cheese) meant that it didn’t steal the show from either the crust or what it was paired with.  It was a nice hit of spicy deliciousness for my first attempt at homemade, gluten-free pizza (done vegetarian style!).

I can’t wait to try the Soy Chorizo in other dishes now.  I have a feeling a taco night is in the future and I will definitely brown some of this up to include as a filling for mine.  Absolute spicy goodness!  Thank you Trader Joe’s…for catering to the gluten-free vegetarian with this amazing product.  Proof once again that gluten-free is delicious and that vegetarian/vegan options are not at all hindered by being gluten-free.  To me…this is a vast improvement over other options I’ve seen on the market.

You won my heart, Trader Joe’s.