La Riviera Trattoria

This is Maria. I had the pleasure of meeting Maria recently at a Celiac Support Group meeting at the Kogan Celiac Center at St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, NJ. Maria was diagnosed with celiac a year ago and told the group her story. Maria's father is the chef-owner at La Riviera Trattoria in Clifton. Being the daughter of the chef, she of course began to mourn the loss of her delicious Italian foods. This led her to remake many of the family's recipes in ways that would allow her to continue to enjoy them. Thus, a gluten-free menu was developed for the restaurant which her family now shares with us.

You can imagine how excited I was to try her dad's place. My husband has been gluten and dairy free for over 4 years and has never been able to order pasta in a restaurant. Additionally, Maria assured me they would be able to accommodate the dairy restriction and make something for us that was vegetarian.

We went there to celebrate my husband's and niece's birthdays. Maria set up the whole menu for us and everything was ready to go when we got there. We started with bruschetta on GF crackers, followed by stuffed artichokes which were quite a treat, a salad, and then GF penne with a truffle oil that was spectacular!

Here is Maria's papa, Franco, the chef at La Riviera Trattoria. We had a lovely evening, stress free due to the wonderful care we were given at the restaurant. We plan to go back soon with friends.

If you go: call ahead and ask for Maria. She will put together a menu for you if you need other restrictions besides the GF menu. 

Buono Appetito!

Oatmeal of the Week 1

I love oatmeal for breakfast. My favorite is Bob's Red Mill Thick-Cut Rolled Oats, but these are not guaranteed gluten-free. If you have celiac, you will want to get Bob's Red Mill (or other brand) gluten-free rolled oats or steel-cut oats. Each batch is tested for gluten before labeling. The steel-cut oats are whole oats that have been pulverized; they take about 15-20 min to cook. Use 1 cup steel-cut oats to 3 cups water. For rolled oats, use 1/2 dry oats with 1 cup water. Now, to make it exciting, come back and check out my different posts on oatmeal of the week. Or post your favorite!

Oatmeal of the Week 1
1/2 cup dry rolled oats, 1/2 cup water & 1/2 cup favorite non-dairy milk, 1 Tbsp chopped dried cherries, grated rind of 1/2 orange, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon.
Bring water and milk to a boil, add rest of ingredients and cook until liquid is absorbed.
Serve with sliced almonds if desired. YUM

Larabar Fan of the Day!

http://www.larabar.com/fun/blog
Hey, I'm the Larabar fan of the day!! Check it out!

Valentine's Day Linzer Tarts

We have made these raspberry-filled linzer tarts for years on Valentine's Day. When we went gluten and dairy free, the recipe was reworked to fit our new nutritional needs. Over our gluten-free years I have played with the flours used in the dough and think this combination works quite well.Follow the flour recommendations and proportions closely for the best results.
1 cup tapioca flour
3/4 c brown rice flour
1/2 cup almond flour
3 Tbsp each quinoa flour and garbanzo flour
2 Tbsp sweet rice flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp xanthan gum1 cup Earth Balance non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
1 egg
1 tbsp lemon zest

12 oz all-fruit seedless raspberry jam
Organic confectioner's sugar

Combine all flours, baking powder, and xanthan gum in a medium bowl and whisk together.
In a separate bowl, beat margarine until creamy. Add sugar and beat until combined. Add egg and beat until creamy. Add flour mixture a little at a time and beat until combined. When flour is fully incorporated, add lemon zest and stir to distribute through dough.
Wrap the dough in waxed paper and refrigerate several hours or overnight.
Unwrap dough and roll to about 1/4 inch thick. Cut heart shapes and place on lightly greased cookie sheets.Using a small circle cutter (I use the small circle from the biscuit cutter), cut out the center of every other cookie. You want an even number of whole hearts and hearts with a hole in the center.
Bake 350 for 10 min until lightly browned at the edges. Leave on sheets 3 min before removing with thin metal spatula to cooling racks.
Warm the jam over low heat in a small saucepan (do not burn).
Use a spoon to spread the jam over the bottom hearts. Top with hearts that have the holes.
Continue making these sandwiches until all the cookies are used.
Use a sifter to sprinkle the tarts with confectioner's sugar. Then use remaining jam to fill the holes.
The tarts freeze well in flat containers with waxed paper separating layers of cookies.

Tofu Cashew Creme

Use this rich, non-dairy creme for topping broiled peaches, berries or other fresh fruit, pancakes and waffles.

1/2 lb firm tofu
1 Tbsp cashew butter
1 Tbsp maple syrup (or more to taste)
1 tsp vanilla extract or 1/2 tsp vanilla & 1/4 tsp almond

Mix all in food processor until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides once or twice.

Holiday Spinach Spread

This spinach spread is good for any time of the year and is easily made with frozen spinach and other ingredients you probably have on hand. Bring it to your next holiday party; your friends will never know it's dairy-free and healthy!
1 10-oz pkg frozen spinach, thawed and the water squeezed out
1 lg clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp miso
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp Vegenaise (or regular mayo)
2 Tbsp plain soy yogurt
1/4 cup mashed firm tofu

Place all ingredients in food processor and pulse several times to mix. Continue to pulse until a spreadable consistency is reached.
Enjoy on flax or rice crackers.

Buckwheat Nutmeg Waffles

Mmm. These buckwheat waffles smell so good when they're baking! This recipe didn't make it in time for the printing of Melissa's Marvelous Meatless Meals so I want to share it with you here.

1 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
2 Tbsp garbanzo flour
1 Tbsp nutmeg
1 Tbsp baking powder
2 Tbsp rapadura or Sucanat sugar
1 tsp xanthan gum

2 Tbsp ground flax
3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 cups non-dairy milk
1/4 cup canola oil

mix 2 Tbsp flax with 1/2 cup warm water and set aside.
Mix all other dry ingredients together in large bowl
Mix applesauce, oil, and non-dairy milk together in a separate bowl and then add to dry ingredients. Add flax mixture to batter. Mix all together.
Make waffles according to your wafflemaker instructions.
Enjoy with applesauce, apple butter, or sauteed fruit.