I will admit it here - I have never been a huge fan of pretzels. My friend Kent buys the large barrel of pretzels from Costco and eats them constantly. I never understood it. Don't get me wrong, I L-O-V-E my salty snacks but my favorite are traditional potato chips.
So, after going gluten free a few years ago I didn't give pretzels too much thought. I didn't care before so why should I care now? I did eventually try Glutino's gluten free pretzels but thought they had a funny after-taste and didn't even finish the bag.
Recently while shopping at my local grocery store I spied Snyder's of Hanover's gluten free pretzels. Curiosity got the best of me and I purchased a bag. I was having a friend over to watch a basketball play-off game and thought these would make for a good game time snack.
Little did I know that these pretzels would be such a hit! We ate and ate and ate. I later learned that my friend liked them so much that she went out and bought some to eat at work that week -- and she is NOT gluten free! She just liked them that much.
I have since bought another bag and a different friend bought some to use in a recipe for a pie crust that called for pretzels so I could eat the pie. Next time I travel I think I will be bringing a bag of these with me as an airplane snack. And they certainly will appear at my next sports viewing function too!
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The Guilt and the Gratitude
There has been a lot of buzz recently about Domino's new gluten free pizza. A few months ago the same thing happened when California Pizza Kitchen announced a gluten free pizza. The problem? While the pizza crust itself is gluten free, the restaurants don't have safe practices for the pizza toppings and sauce. So the same ladle is used to put sauce on all pizzas potentially cross-contaminating the gluten free pizza. Additionally, traditional pizza kitchens have a lot of flour flying around and some is bound to land on a gluten free pizza.
That's where my guilt AND gratitude come in. My guilt? I am not celiac but rather gluten intolerant. From what I have read about other people's conditions, mine is fairly mild. I can eat wheat and drink beer and be fine. My problem creeps up on me when I eat too much or too many meals in a row containing gluten. Then the stomach issues begin, the rash shows up and/or I get canker sores. I have learned that I can eat something gluten about once a week or every other week and be just fine. I have that luxury. I can eat out with friends or family and "be normal" if I want to. I know many, many, many others in the gluten free community could not even toy with this idea. I have a freedom they don't.
And that's why I am grateful. I am grateful I can indulge once in a while. I am also grateful that Domino's and California Pizza Kitchen have gluten free pizza. I am happy that Whole Foods will make me a sandwich on gluten free bread even if the work area is full of bread crumbs from other customer's sandwiches. It means I can enjoy certain foods whenever I want because a little cross-contamination isn't going to hurt me. My body won't even notice. For some people, even using a wooden spoon that was used for something with flour in it can make them sick. I personally cannot fathom such sensitivity - and I am grateful for that. And it makes me feel guilty that I have it so easy. I do not have to drill waitstaff on menu ingredients and safe kitchen practices. I can handle it if a soup is thickened with flour or the french fries are cooked in the same oil as the onion rings. I am sooooo grateful for that.
Okay, I am off to write my grocery list for the ingredients I need to make gluten free green chili and corn lasagna - my Memorial Day dinner party contribution. I am modifying this recipe to suit my needs (namely gluten free pasta, half and half instead of cream and green chili's instead of poblanos.) Happy Memorial Day weekend!
P.S. The lasagna turned out great but next time I will make a little extra of the corn mixture as it was a tad dry and will use whole milk instead of half and half. I think the gluten free pasta soaked up all the sauce.
That's where my guilt AND gratitude come in. My guilt? I am not celiac but rather gluten intolerant. From what I have read about other people's conditions, mine is fairly mild. I can eat wheat and drink beer and be fine. My problem creeps up on me when I eat too much or too many meals in a row containing gluten. Then the stomach issues begin, the rash shows up and/or I get canker sores. I have learned that I can eat something gluten about once a week or every other week and be just fine. I have that luxury. I can eat out with friends or family and "be normal" if I want to. I know many, many, many others in the gluten free community could not even toy with this idea. I have a freedom they don't.
And that's why I am grateful. I am grateful I can indulge once in a while. I am also grateful that Domino's and California Pizza Kitchen have gluten free pizza. I am happy that Whole Foods will make me a sandwich on gluten free bread even if the work area is full of bread crumbs from other customer's sandwiches. It means I can enjoy certain foods whenever I want because a little cross-contamination isn't going to hurt me. My body won't even notice. For some people, even using a wooden spoon that was used for something with flour in it can make them sick. I personally cannot fathom such sensitivity - and I am grateful for that. And it makes me feel guilty that I have it so easy. I do not have to drill waitstaff on menu ingredients and safe kitchen practices. I can handle it if a soup is thickened with flour or the french fries are cooked in the same oil as the onion rings. I am sooooo grateful for that.
Okay, I am off to write my grocery list for the ingredients I need to make gluten free green chili and corn lasagna - my Memorial Day dinner party contribution. I am modifying this recipe to suit my needs (namely gluten free pasta, half and half instead of cream and green chili's instead of poblanos.) Happy Memorial Day weekend!
P.S. The lasagna turned out great but next time I will make a little extra of the corn mixture as it was a tad dry and will use whole milk instead of half and half. I think the gluten free pasta soaked up all the sauce.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)