AlpineAire Gluten Free Product List

I don't know about anywhere else, but around here... winter is coming. And with it are blizzards and power outages. So it is very helpful to have a bit of extra food (amont other things) around just in case.

AlpineAire offers a variety of dehydrated foods that can be used in such circumstances, and they also offer a wide variety of informative listings on their site. There are other allergen listings as well as the gluten-free list.

One thing, though - the apple flakes and diced apples are not on the gluten-free list. However, I emailed the company and got their assurance that they had contacted the manufacturer (on the second email - their first stated that they were going to contact them) and the apple products are gluten free.

The entire exchange took less than half an hour, and they were very helpful.

This winter, I'll be eating better as I sit here waiting forever for the roads to be plowed.

GF Tasting at The Raisin Rack today!

I'll be attending the GF tasting at the Raisin Rack in Canton this afternoon. Should be very interesting - there are so many things out there that I haven't tried! I will be picking up some gf burger buns while I'm there, to accompany the hot dog buns I got last week from The Grainless Baker.

The hot dog bun worked out really well, considering. And by that, I mean I was cooking over a bonfire, so the hot dog (and bun) went onto the cooking stick! Made quite the impression on the rest of the guests. But next time I'll save the seasonings for after the cooking... too much ketchup and the smaller side of the bun got a bit soggy and tried to break away from the rest.

Tasted pretty darned good, though. Nice and warm, a little crusty from the fire, and very good with that hot dog. (I'll heat the hot dog thoroughly before putting it into the bun in the future, though.)

All in all, it was a great evening.

My sister invited me for a cookout at her house this coming Saturday. Now, this is unusual. She lives over three hours away from me. But... she's invited one of her co-workers to come over, and that co-worker is also a Celiac. So I'm bringing the brownies (in a disposable pan, and already baked) and I'm going to grab a few treats for her friend as well. She has been a great help in finding things locally down there. My sister tries really hard to make sure I have things to eat, and that I'm safe in her home. She's sweet. And her friend has been a huge help. Turns out there are GF areas in the Meijer stores, and that Kroger has a lot of gf options as well. (Just not their cottage cheese, for some odd reason.)

So I'm making my turtle brownies (they were a bit hit the last time) and buns and I'll pick u an assortment of little things to take down with me for her. Maybe I'll even take a box of Glutino crackers for her... and I'll absolutely be taking the new Snyder's pretzels. I'm pretty sure she can't get them down there yet... they're still mostly in Whole Foods stores. (My wonderful GIG leader, Denise, got some for the Raisin Rack in Canton. I think it was blackmail...)

Hope all is well with you, and that you're finding lots of great gf eats this week.

Out of the blue

This evening I got a call from my sister in Columbus (well, outside Columbus).

She asked me to come to a cookout on the 18th. That's a little unusual, as I'm over three hours away from there. But then came the really strange thing - she asked me to bring brownies!!

She's inviting one of her friends who is also a Celiac, so I'll bring some burger buns and things as well - some things she might not be able to get way out in the middle of nowhere!

And... I get to miss a baby shower. Not that I don't want to celebrate, but those games make me crazy.

A visit to The Raisin Rack in Canton

After several stops, I headed over to the Raisin Rack in Canton today. The road in front of the store is closed, but they have a good path marked through the back and the store remains open. Except for Labor Day, of course.

I'm attending that midwest favorite, the bonfire on Sunday. So I grabbed some smorables, and some Udi's bread. Also got some hot dog buns (they were recommended by Denise, the GIG leader in this area)and some Katz parbaked rolls. I'm looking forward to seeing how they turn out - I've heard great things about the brand, and have never had the chance to try any of their products.

I'll give a full review after the bonfire... I'm having hot dogs and s'mores, just like everybody else!

Back from California - none the worse for wear.

Had a great time getting my daughter set up in her first apartment at college this past week. We wound up eating out a lot, and I found a couple of places that were great... and one that was really just not so hot.

The Elephant Bar doesn't have a gluten free menu. But the manager came over to our table, went over all the offerings with me, discussed the different sauces and the ones that are made in-house versus the ones they get from a supplier, and arranged for me to have a wonderful meal. He even took my order over to our waiter himself, to make sure I would get exactly what I needed. Great guy. Great food.

Chevy's? Not so much. Enchiladas are normally pretty safe, but they couldn't even tell me what the chicken was marinated in or seasoned with. I'm thinking Chili's next time we go out with that particular set of friends.

Still, I found something wonderful out there - Guerrero's corn tortillas. Not refrigerated, very mild in flavor, and flexible when cold. Did you hear me? I said when *cold*!! Evidently they are made by the Mission people, but they couldn't taste different from the regular Mission corn tortillas if they tried. Great for sandwiches - I took two avocado and turkey sandwiches on the plane home with me. (And they were yummy!!)

All in all, a good gf trip. The San Francisco Bay area has a ton of gf options, and I'm looking forward to trying some more of them when I go back to visit.