Hi everyone!

In the Anaheim, CA area this weekend? Stop by the Natural Products Expo (aka Expo West) and say hello! We'll be at booth #4056 sample our burritos, oatmeal, granola and NEW pizza wraps (Chicken Pesto, Three Cheese and Italian Sausage- yum!) as well as gluten free cheesecake. Yes, CHEESECAKE.

We would LOVE to see you (and feed you!) but if that's not enough, we're in fabulous company!

Creative Crostini

Even though Thanksgiving has passed, Christmas is right around the corner and many of us are only beginning to entertain for the holidays. This week, we're featuring a lot of different options for one of our favorite appetizers: crostini. Crostini, Italian for "little toasts" are toasted slices white bread, topped with fruits, vegetables, cheeses and/or nuts to create a sweet & savory appetizer. Also known as bruschetta, crostini are traditionally prepared by first toasting the bread slices and then topping with fresh vegetables or fruits, etc. however, another great way to prepare these perfect hors d'oeuvres can also be topped and then baked or broiled for a warmer alternative.

Crostini or bruschetta has always been one of my favorite appetizers. And I’ve had success making gluten-free French bread to then make gluten-free crostini, however, the problem is it is time-intensive and requires a lot of prior planning. Often, when I’m entertaining, I’m focusing most of my attention on the main entrée and want just some yummy appetizers that can be easily and quickly thrown together. Prior to being gluten-free crostini was just that – quick and easy. Just buy a baguette, toast and top with a delicious topping. But as you probably know, there aren’t that many, if any, good gluten-free baguettes readily available at the grocery store. So what was once an easy appetizer then became kind of a more difficult challenge…until now.

This past month I had a dinner party and really wanted to make crostini and I had an idea that I thought might work to once again make crostini easy and delicious, gluten-free. I have had great success with Udi’s gluten-free bread for sandwiches and toast, but since it’s sold as sandwich bread that is really as far as I had taken it. Then I thought, why wouldn’t it work to use it as crostini? So I cut off outer crust of each slice and cut each piece on the diagonal to give me cute little bread triangles. I then lightly coated each slice with oil (in this case I used walnut oil) with a pastry brush and toasted them in the oven. Then I topped them with my topping and voila – what resulted was perfect, delicious crostini appetizers that were beautiful in presentation!

Not only was the crostini great but the topping I used was spectacular as well. This is a great recipe for the holidays and now only takes just a few minutes to pull together

-Chef Yvonne

Here are some of our favorite crostini & bruschetta recipes from over the years. Although most recipes officially call for gluten-free french bread or a baguette, we have had such great luck using Udi's that we recommend you give it a try!

Don't forget - crostini and bruschetta can easily be gluten-free/dairy-free - just omit the cheese! The most basic and traditional Italian recipe calls for lightly toasted bread slices topped with freshly diced tomatoes, minced basil, a little bit of minced garlic or onion, and a sprinkle of olive oil.

Bruschetta with Tomato, Smoked Salmon & Herbs
Kalamata Olive Pate with Roasted Garlic & Basil Crostini
Lemon Basil Crostini
Warm Goat Cheese Crostini with Honey, Rosemary & Walnuts
Bruschetta with Gorgonzola & Apples
Bruschetta with Honeyed Tomatoes & Mascarpone
Goat Cheese & Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta (seen above)
Roasted Pepper Bruschetta

Fairs, Planes and Cupcakes - oh my!

What a busy weekend - happy Monday, everyone! So much to tell you about today, including a recap of the Nature's Market 8th Annual Gluten Free Fair!

The Fair, hosted by Nature's Market in Kent, is a two-day gluten free extravaganza! With more than two dozen vendors sampling their wares, almost every gluten free product was on sale. From soups and pastas to seasoning salts and salad dressings, ice creams and dairy alternatives to convenience foods -- like our burritos and granola! We spent the day at the Market, hanging out with Zing! Bars, Enjoy Life, Kettle Cuisine, Amy's, Sunny Valley Wheat Free and many others. All of the vendors are kind beyond words and their products speak for themselves!

Positioned between Zing Bars and Lulu's Granola, we spent the morning sampling our Chicken & Cheese and Vegetarian Bean & Cheese Burritos as well as each of the three flavors of our granola: Apple Almond, Raisin Almond and Cranberry Cashew. We connected with so many wonderful individuals and families, some seasoned gluten free consumers (some going on 20+ years) and others who have only recently been diagnosed as gluten-intolerant (three weeks ago!).

On a related note, we also had the opportunity to do some product sampling while we at the Market - most notably, of Julie's new ice cream sandwiches featuring lemon frozen yogurt sandwiched between two of Glutenfreeda's vanilla cookies! Amazing! Just sweet enough, perfectly tangy and absolutely refreshing, another fantastic dessert from Julie's!


On another note, over the weekend, one of the Glutenfreeda teams (car #60) in the Peking to Paris motor challenge is in Istanbul, Turkey! After another broken axle en route to Samarkand to rejoin the group, it became clear that the safest choice would be to fly the car to Istanbul for more lasting repairs and better road conditions. After a day-long layover in Moscow, Douglas and Anastasia are now safely in Istanbul, working on repairing the car. The rest of the groups passed through Turkmenistan over the weekend - covering more than 1,550km/963miles! After a rest-day in Samarkand, the teams left Uzbekistan on Saturday and drove over across Turkmenistan, arriving in Gorgan, Iran this evening. With only one more scheduled rest day, the race will soon move into Turkey and the Central Asian chapter will come to close. From that point, the teams will move from Turkey to Greece, into Italy and through France on the way to Paris -- all in the next 12 days!

Don't forget, October is Cupcake Month over atGlutenfreeda.com! With cupcake ideas for everyone, we are featuring several fantastic recipes: our Chocolate Mousse Grand Marnier and Carrot Spice, just to highlight a few!

Gluten Free Foodie Weekend & the Northwest Naturals Show

Happy Monday everyone!

Over the weekend, I had the exciting opportunity to attend the Natural Products Northwest 2010 exhibition! In addition to representing Glutenfreeda Foods Inc., I was able to connect with other wonderful gluten free manufacturers: Udi's Handcrafted Foods, Rudi's Bakery, Hain Celestial Group, Zing Bars, WOW (WithOut Wheat) Baking Company, Happy Baby Organics, and many others.

We first ran into Rachel Carlyle-Gauthier (aka Gluten Free Mama) and her daughter, sampling mini pecan pies, raspberry thumbprints and chocolate cake - all of which were amazing! In addition to creating delicious gluten free baked goods, Gluten Free Mama's baking mixes feature almond and coconut flours, both of which are higher in fiber and protein than other flours. Rachel was generous enough to send us home with a couple of mixes, including a double pie crust! With fresh, local apples available right now, we're excited to take it for a test-run - stay tuned for a product review!

Walking through the expo, we met up with Don Braun of Schar Foods, an Italian-based company which provides gluten free foods to countries across Europe -- and now the U.S.! In addition to a vast selection of pastas in different shapes and grain compositions, Schar also produces cookies and biscuits and par-baked bakery items like crusty dinner rolls and fluffy sandwich buns. Round and airy, these buns can be easily cut in half and used for sandwiches or burgers, no toasting required.



Our next visit was to Shari Cole with Simply Shari's Gluten Free & Fabulous (formerly Gluten Free & Fabulous) and got a sneak peak at her fantastic new packaging! We were able to sample her melt-in-your-mouth shortbread cookies and so-good-you-can't-tell-they're-gluten-free individual pizzas (in cheese, pesto & cheese and organic pepperoni & cheese). Keep an eye out for a product review! And check out this article from the San Fernando Valley Business Journal about Shari's success and recent name-change.