GF on Campus: Big Red Barn

Source: wikipedia

Hello readers and gluten-free eaters!

Sorry I haven't exactly updated in a while.  I've been busy getting back in the swing of things in terms of classes and schoolwork.  Generally on days when I was bad and already went over my gluten-threshold by eating a pancake or something at breakfast, I have a really hard time finding gluten-free lunch things.  Every place serves non-gluten-free sandwiches or the soups have wheat in them.  And quite frankly, tossed salad is not my thing.

But today, I went to the Big Red Barn with Alysia.  I noticed a sign that said that they can make gluten-free sandwiches, even the specialty ones.  Which is awesome for kids like me to have other options.  I wish more eateries would do that, but it's nice to have one option.

Happy eating!

Last Visit to Babycakes

Cookie sandwich, choco-chip brownie, and green tea

The other day, after getting my hair chopped off and dyed (see below), I met up with Danielle to go to Babycakes once again.  I got a brownie just to see what they are supposed to taste like.  See, I make them fairly often because who doesn't like brownies, but I can never get the consistency right.  The Babycakes one was absolutely lovely and perfect, and I wish I could buy a whole box or something, but sadly, I am in Ithaca and that would be an expensive delivery.

The cookie sandwich was heaven in my mouth.  I have never had such good frosting or cream in general in all my life.  It was light and fresh and just tasted amazing.  The cookies themselves were a bit thin for my taste, but I really liked the crunchiness of them.  The green tea was a great pairing for both, since the tea does not have too much flavor, so it sedates the sweetness in your mouth a bit.

Look at my hair!

No more delicious vegan cooking that isn't made by me for a while.  But I cannot wait to go again in the summer.

BabyCakes Donuts

The other day I was hanging out with my friend Aaron and we wandered around the whole city.  Since we were in the area, we decided to stop by BabyCakes.  I usually buy two things there: something I've made and something new.  So I bought a ginger cookie and one of their donuts.

Source: The BabyCakes NYC Blog

BabyCakes is Disney for kids with allergies.  Everything is delicious and sweet and contains very few allergens.  I have a mild dairy allergy, everything is vegan.  I can't eat gluten, everything is gluten-free.  I can't eat soy, it is soy-free.  Everything is wonderful and low-glycemic and nothing hurts.

The first of my deserts I bit into was the ginger cookie.  It was super ginger-y and almost spicy.  The cookie was also a lot crunchier and thinner than when I made them, but it definitely fit the taste, so I didn't mind too much.

Dear Lord, I look so awkward, but yep, there's the half-eaten cookie still in my hand

And then I tried the doughnut.  Consuming gluten-free bagels and such, I did not have high hopes for the taste and consistency of the doughnut, but boy was I proven wrong.  It was perfect, as in not too dry, not overly sugary, and not too clumpy either.  I got it with chocolate and caramel topping, which was beyond amazing.  Definitely going back sometime and getting these again.

Look at this amazingness

The best surprise was the milk chocolate in the middle of the doughnut hole.  Definitely my favorite part, but I should probably try other flavors.

So, that's been my first of (hopefully) many entries on BabyCakes NYC because it is the happiest place on Earth.

Lemon & Garlic Roast Chicken

Happy New Year, everyone!  So, my father and I have been doing some cooking together and decided to try our first recipe from What to Cook and How to Cook It by Jane Hornby.I've been wanting this book since the summer when I stumbled upon it in Urban Outfitters (cook books at Urban, what?).

(Source: Amazon)

Anyway, today my dad and I tried making the "Roast Chicken with Lemon & Leek Stuffing" minus the leek stuffing because that involves bread and right now, I don't have plain toast.  The only toast I have is Udi's cinnamon raisin toast (which, by the way, is delicious as French toast).  I'm not going to post pictures of us making it because my dad hates that sort of thing and the book uses that kind of format.  So, I don't want too much copyright infringement.  But I will post a picture of the final product.

The chicken in the back, some steamed veggies in the front

The recipes in the book are legitimate.  My dad was worried that cooking the chicken at 400 degrees would completely dry it out and burn, but quite the opposite.  The meat was succulent, juicy, but will leave you tasting garlic and lemon for a while.  This is, however, an excellent dinner choice for those of us that want to avoid gluten.  You might notice that there is no starch but that's because my dad didn't think of anything that would go.  Even though I suggested little red roasted potatoes.  Because potatoes are awesome and go with everything.  Actually, I used to dislike potatoes after eating them for a straight month while in Poland, but now that I'm getting more creative in the preparation, they are becoming more delicious.

Well that's my first entry for 2012 and hopefully there are many more to come!