Gotta Go to Campo’s!

 

Greetings Glutards!  So I’ve heard from a couple people that the famous Campo’s in Old City has gluten free bread.  Could this be true?  Do I now have a great place to get a decent sandwich right around the corner from my work?  I was a little skeptical so I sent my friend and official That’s Glutarded reporter, Jaylea, to find out.

Campo’s is located on Market Street between 2nd and 3rd streets.  Right in the heart of Old City.  This place gets packed at lunch time!

Jaylea was met by this welcoming sign at the door.  Glutards enter proudly!

The friendly staff at Campo’s informed her that they do have gluten free Kaiser rolls for those of us on a gluten free diet.  They are made fresh by a bakery in Atlantic City.  They even gave her a card with the ingredients of the rolls to photograph for us.  A+ for service at Campo’s!

When Jaylea returned with my sandwich, I was like a kid on Christmas morning.  She got me a turkey club, which was piled high with meat and veggie goodness.

Isn’t she a beauty!  That’s a model sandwich, right there!

The sandwich was incredible and the bread was really good.  One of the best gluten free buns I have had in a while.  Especially since most of the ones I’ve had lately are from the Whole Foods freezer section.  Definitely glutard approved!

Check it out for yourselves at Campo’s and let me know what ya’ll think!

Glutardedly Yours,

 

~Tim

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I <3 Sara!

 

Oh, it’s happening…

Greetings Glutards! How ya’ll doin?  Yes, I know it’s been awhile since I have posted.  Yes, I know you have all been waiting with baited breath for my next gluten free adventure.  Shucks, who am I kidding?  The the beautiful weather we’ve been having and all of the drama going on on The Voice, I’m sure you’ve all been entertained.

 

Well, have I got a surprise for all of ya’ll!  No, it’s not another attempt at gluten free pizza crust.  My friend Dane and I had a fantastic celebrity encounter this week.  On Tuesday night, we went to see the magnificent Sara Bareilles for her solo Brave Enough tour.  It was my first time seeing Ms. Sara, and it was magical.

The show was amazing.  The venue was great.  And oh the merchandise! 

The highlight of this glutards night was when we waited around till midnight and got to meet Sara!  I thought Dane was going to pee himself.

She was so lovely.  They wouldn’t let us beyond the fence.  It was like meeting Sara is prison.

All in all, we saw a great show and went home with some signed Sara swag.  Definitely a win.

That’s all I have right now, friends.  I am working on some new gluten free recipes.  I know I haven’t been posting as frequently.  Work has been running me non-stop.  Anything you would like to see me make?  What about some restaurants/bakeries that have great gluten free options?  Let me know in the comments below or on Facebook.

Glutardedly Yours,

 

~Tim

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Oh, and here’s Sara’s new single, “Brave”.  Listen to it! 

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

 

Greetings Glutards!  Today, I am sharing with you on of my favorite Italian dishes.  Since work has been keeping me really busy lately, I decided to do a quick and easy version of this for you.  No, I did not make my own sauce.  Yes, I know that makes me a bad Italian.  But this dish looks and tastes great so you can still impress your friends and family without anyone being the wiser…

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 12-24 Shrimp, peeled and deveined (more or less depending on how many you are serving
• 2 medium pieces of spicy Italian sausage, cut into small pieces
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or grated
• 3-4 TBSP olive oil
• 1/2 cup of frozen peas
• 1 jar of Wegman’s Italian Classics Fra Diavolo sauce (it’s gluten free, y’all)
• Crush red pepper, to taste
• Gluten Free Pasta of choice.  Tonight, we did a motley mix of fusilli and penne

Here’s how ya do:

In a large pot, bring some water to a boil of your pasta.  You will want to salt your cooking water a little to give your pasta some flavor.

In a large fry pan, heat your 4 TBSP of olive oil.  You will want your burner on about medium.  Toss in your shrimp, sausage (sausage party!), and your garlic.  Sautee these babies around until the meats are fully cooked.

 

Next, add your crushed red pepper.  You can go as “Hot or Not” as you’d like.  Then, throw in your frozen peas.  Why frozen peas?  Well, peas are actually an excellent source of…f*ck it, I just had them in the freezer.  That’s why…

Now comes the super hard part.  Open the jar of Wegman’s sauce.  Pour it into your fry pan with all of your other party guests.  Stir.  Wow, you are a great cook!  Turn down the heat and let that all simmer for about 15-20 minutes to get the flavors mingling.  Taste it to check for spice, and then adjust accordingly.

Once you pasta is cooked “al dente”, which is Italian for “not mushy as hell”, drain off the water and toss your pasta in your sauce.  Make sure you stir it around good to get everything covered.

Presto! Look at that!  A fantastic Fra Diavolo to impress the best without spending all afternoon in the kitchen.  Honestly, I do enjoy making my own sauce over the pre-packaged stuff, but the Wegman’s brand is pretty legit.

Sautee.  Simmer.  Enjoy!

Glutardedly Yours,

 

~Tim

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Spicy Pan Fried Shrimp

 

Greetings Glutards!  So today I am making a recipe that was sent to me by my friend, Dane.  It’s a fantastic, healthy take on that delicious spicy shrimp appetizer that numerous restaurants push on their menus.  No matter what it’s called, it’s still basically the same tasty dish from venue to venue.  The recipe comes to you from Reckless Abandon and it is definitely something you should try!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• 3/4 to 1LBS raw shrimp, peeled and tails removed
• 2 TSP cornstarch
• 2 TBSP coconut oil or vegetable oil
• 14 Ounces of Tofu
• 1/3 Cup sweet red chili sauce
• 5 TBSP Sriracha
• 3 TBSP lemon juice
• 1/2 of an Asian pear, chopped *(this is my addition to the original recipe)
• salt & pepper for seasoning

Here’s how ya do:

Start off by removing the shells, legs and tails from all of your little shrimp friends.  You want them to be completely naked for this adventure.  Pat them dry and season with some salt and pepper, and then toss them in your cornstarch.  Be sure to coat all the shrimp.  Use a little more cornstarch if needed.

In a large blender of food processor, combine your tofu, Sriracha, chili sauce and lemon juice.  You want to blend it all up until it’s super smooth.

Mmmmm, spicy tofu paste.  Doesn’t that look delish…

In a large non-stick skillet, heat up your oil of choice.  You’ll want the heat pretty high.  Add in your shrimp and cook them until they are pink and opaque all the way through.

Here’s where I mixed it up a bit.  Chop up your Asian pear into small cubes and add them to the pan.  This will give the dish a little crunch and a light sweetness to counter the spice.

Lower the temp of your pan and add about 1/2 a cup of the spicy sauce.  Make sure your add enough to coat all of the shrimp and pear.

And that’s it!  Your finished product will be fancy enough to rival that of your favorite local chain. 

Serve your spicy shrimp as is, or over a bed of salad like I did.  A little extra of your spicy sauce makes an excellent salad dressing.  I even made a few gluten-free garlic and goat cheese toasts to go with it…cause I’m classy

Glutardedly Yours,

 

~Tim

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Find the original recipe on Reckless Abandon by clicking here!

Shrimp & Asparagus Carbonara

 

Greetings Glutards! So I was in an Italian kick again last week and wanted to attempt a dish I have never tried before. I still had a slab of bacon in the fridge, so I figured I would work that into whatever I made. But what Italian treat involves bacon? The answer, my friends, is Carbonara.

Carbonara is an Italian pasta dish based around eggs, cheese, bacon (or pancetta), and black pepper. The eggs and cheese are whipped together and added to the hot pasta to form a creamy sauce. Sounds super simple, right? Well, let's dive right in and see..

Here's what you'll need:

• 1 pound dry gluten free pasta or your choice (I used fusilli)
• 4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
• 6 ounces bacon or pancetta, chopped into small pieces
• 5 cloves or garlic, finely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1 cup grated asiago cheese
• 18-24 shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3/4 cup chopped asparagus
• Freshly ground black pepper
• A touch of Half & Half

Here's how ya do:

Start by boiling your pasta. You'll want to get that working while you move onto cooking your other ingredients and making your sauce.

In a large fry pan (or a cheap Ikea wok works just fine too) heat up your 4 tablespoons of oil on a medium heat. Add your bacon and fry that up until it's at your desired crispiness. Mmmm, bacon frying is probably the best smell ever...

Next, toss in your shrimp, garlic, and asparagus. Sautee the whole thing around until the shrimp are fully cooked. They will turn a bright pink color when they are ready.

Beat together your eggs and grated cheese. Make sure it is well mixed and there are no large lumps floating around. Add a touch of half and half and mix it around.

Once your pasta is cooked and drained, add it to your pan with your shrimp, bacon and asparagus. Give it a good stir and make sure all the ingredients are partying together nicely. Remove the pan from the heat.

Here's where it gets fun and a little challenging. With your pan OFF THE HEAT, slowly add your egg/cheese mixture as you gently stir the pasta. If you do this over the heat, or add the liquid too quickly, your eggs may scramble. Nobody wants scrambled egg pasta, honey. You want to slowly stir the pasta until your sauce starts to thicken and turn into a cream sauce. That's when you know you've done it right. Great job, guys!

To finish it all off, stir in your freshly ground black pepper.  I added a good bit, but season to your own tastes.

And that's about it! It's a semi-easy pasta creation that is sure to impress your friends. Hey, bacon always makes everyone come running to a dinner party...

Glutardedly Yours,

~Tim

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*This recipe is adapted from Tyler Florence’s, which can be found by clicking here*

Chocolate Lavender Cupcakes!

 

Flowers and chocolate? Nonsense…

Greetings Glutards!  So this weekend I was in the mood for some baked goodness.  If you are a fellow glutard, you probably feel the same sometimes.  There are just some days where you really just need a piece of deliciously moist chocolate cake. 

Like I’ve said before, I am terrible at baking.  The exact science and method to it just scares me.  So what’s a boy to do?  Well, I called in reinforcements.  Thankfully, my “Master Baker” friend Casey was around and willing to help me with my adventure.  She arrived at my door with baking pans, an electric mixer, and a whole lot of expertise.  All we had to do was figure out what to make.

For Christmas, I received a pack of gluten free chocolate lavender cake mix by Wholesome Chow.  We decided to try it out and turn this easy to prep mix into some interesting cupcakes.

Wholesome Chow makes several baking mixes that are all organic, gluten free, and even vegan.  Wow, something that can please just about everyone at your next dietary restrictions anonymous meeting.  All you have to do to get started is add 1-1/4 cups of milk (dairy or non-dairy) and 1/4 cup of oil into a mixing bowl and blend.  Simple right?

Next, Casey and I carefully added in the chocolate lavender cake mix.  Just make sure you don’t have your mixer set too high, or you’ll fling it all over your kitchen.  Whoops…

After mixing, we poured the batter into cupcake pans.  The bag of mix will make about 12-14 cupcakes.  Casey told me to only fill them about 2/3 of the way full, as the cake will rise.  Thank goodness she was there, or I would have had a mess on my hands.

Place your filled cupcake pans into a 350 degree oven for about 18 to 23 minutes.  You will know when the cupcakes are done by poking a toothpick or a knife into the center.  If the knife comes out clean with no batter or pieces, than you know your baby cakes are ready.

Once your cupcakes have cooled, now it’s time to have some fun with the decorating.  We bought several gluten free flavored icings, pastry bags, and even made our own gluten free icing from another Wholesome Chow mix.  As you can see, we had a lot of fun decorating.  They were definitely unique cupcakes to say the least.  I especially liked Casey’s blood splatter cupcake.

In the end, I’d have to say that Wholesome Chow makes a pretty damn good cupcake.  The mix was easy to prepare, the cakes actually rose nicely in the oven, and the finished product was moist and delicate.  I would definitely love to try some to their other treats.  Looks like I’m off to do some online shopping…

Ps.- Homemade cupcakes also make an impressive birthday present.

Glutardedly Yours,

 

~Tim

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Click here to visit Wholesome Chow’s website!