Gluten Free Food Find of the Week: Saratoga Peanut Butter

Browsing the peanut butter selections at my local supermarket I came upon some flavored peanut butters that boasted a local label. Perusing the back label, an autonomic response in my post-apocalypto-gluten-free state, the words "Gluten Free" jumped out at me. Gluten-free, flavored organic and local made peanut butters! They were in the cart faster than you could say George Washington Carver.

I bought a jar each of the maple and chocolate flavored peanut butters and they are mighty tasty. I prefer the maple flavor, as it is a bit sweeter than the chocolate, which had a chocolate-y smell, but didn't seem as chocolate-y tasting as I was expecting. Perhaps I am too hooked on Nutella. The maple peanut butter is divine on whole wheat toast and of course, makes an awesome PBJ.

At any rate, this is the kind of natural peanut butter that is chunky and a bit soft, although it does not have the weird oil slick on top that some natural peanut butters get when they sit around. Kudos for that too.

You can check out the Saratoga Peanut Butter Company website to check out their other products and order some by mail if you don't live in the Capital District. Or you can call them at 1-888-yopeanut.

Be sure to check out their photo contest for pix featuring their peanut butters to win some free nuttery!

Nunzio's Pink Store Pizza

I had been told many times by friends to check out the gluten-free pizza at Nunzio's, the peptic pink storefront deli on Clinton Street in Saratoga Springs and just somehow never got around to it. However, last week, in between back-to-schools rounds of dental and doctor visits in the "City", I managed to get it together and order one of their gluten-free pizzas. You need to do so at least an hour in advance, but it was worth it to bring home a CRISPY, cheesy mushroom pizza for a surprise dinner delight for my sweetie and hear him gush that it was the best pizza he's eaten in the 2-1/2 years since Glutenzilla entered our lives.

An 8-cut pizza at Nunzio's is $11.95 plus toppings. The menu, which is now firmly ensconced in our fridge hall of fame, indicates that there are other Italian gluten-free dinners available, such as eggplant parmigiana, meatballs, sandwiches, but advises calling ahead. Do so at 518-584-3840. Nunzio's is located at 119 Clinton Street, Saratoga Springs, NY (one block north of intersection of Clinton and Church Streets).

Gansevoort Farmers Market Offerings

The Gansevoort, New York Farmers Market is in full gear now and meets on Thursdays from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Village Green (corner of State Route 32 and Wilton-Gansevoort Road). If you live in the area you should definitely come over to check out the fresh vegetables, fruits, baked goods, honey and even locally-made wine.

I made a beeline for the table manned by Jeanne of Saratoga Gluten-Free Goods and scored a half-loaf of delicious looking whole wheat bread and some of the chewy rolls Dan has been enjoying with our finally-ripened garden tomatoes. I even met up with the
same pregnant lady I scuffled with over a baguette at my last market outing. Back then, I let her have it. The baguette, I mean. But this week the lone baguette was mine, all mine.

Next stop was to sample the fermented fruit and grape delights of
Colebrook Country Wines. The owner had samples of a nice crisp Pinot Grigio and fragrant and slightly sweet Red Raspberry Wine so I picked up a bottle of each. She indicated that in between nine farmers' markets a week she is happy to offer tours and tastings at her winery.

The gorgeous vegetables and fruits at the Gifford Family farmstand was next. There were baskets of perfect frying peppers, pears, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, squashes, and several kinds of string beans and some hot cherry peppers I just couldn't resist.

The Farmers Market will run each Thursday through the month of October, so be sure to stop by to sample some great food and support a local farmer, vintner or baker. I promise it will be a delicious outing!

Hudson Falls Gluten-Free and Dietetic Cakes

There's a new gluten-free bakery in the North Country, Hudson Falls Cakes, operated by Kathy LaPan out of her home. Kathy specializes in custom orders, like special occasion decorated cakes and other goodies. With personal experience in gluten-free baking for her celiac grandmother and in sugar-free baking for herself (she's a diabetic), Kathy is a specialist in "digestible comestibles", as she describes it on her website. Kathy notes that she can also whip up milk/casein-free, peanut-free, egg-free, and other allergen-free sweets , so if you are looking for a fancy cake for a special birthday, anniversary or wedding, check out her website or give her a call at (518) 747-4854.

Hudson Falls Cakes will be offering samples of their baked goods at the August 5th meeting of the Glens Falls Celiac Association at Glens Falls Hospital at 6:30 pm, so plan to attend if you would like to speak with Kathy in person and see what kinds of goodies she can whip up.

Gluten-Free Product Review: Really Great Food Lemon Cookies

We get so many people in our bookstore these days asking for gluten-free cookbooks that I am constantly on the lookout for them. We don't find a lot of used copies out there and when they do show up, they are snapped up almost immediately, so I am convinced that there is a market for more gluten-free recipe titles (HINT to all food writers out there).

One of my customers got that usual shpiel from me along with an earful about how I am adjusting to cooking gluten-free these days and she came back a few weeks later with a gift of lemon cookie mix from The Really Great Food Company. (My customers are 99.9% sweethearts!)

I will give props to this New York State company for having a wide variety of gluten-free and dairy-free mixes and foods and for keeping the prices reasonable. This mix made a bodacious amount of cookies (more than the 50 they estimate on the package) and the price on their website is eminently reasonable ($5.95).

The cookies were good, not Really Great, though. I made several batches--some more well-done than others with my temperamental oven that requires vicious kicking to make it hiccup above 100 degress--and all were curiously dry while spongy at the same time. The lemon flavor was good, but they were somewhat naked looking without any adornment, so I topped them with sliced almonds.

All in all, a B+ grade for this lemon cookie mix. There are some other interesting baking mixes on the Really Great Food website I may check out another time, like Spinach and Cheese Biscuits and a Rye-Style bread mix, so I encourage others to give it a look if they do a lot of baking at home.

Sherry Lynn's Bakery Now Online

The good folks over at Sherry Lynn's Gluten-Free Bakery and Cafe in Brunswick, New York now have some of their gluten-free treats available for mail-order purchase at their new website. I can vouch for the yumminess of their apple fritters and chocolate chip cookies, having sampled them at their cafe at our visit last October.

Gluten-Free Goddess Garb

I received a lovely apron from Karina's shop at the Gluten-Free Goddess website and am very pleased. I picked out a great Buddah design apron and have been cooking up gluten-free delights in it ever since. It fits and washes up well and has two small pockets in front, which helps when creating in the kitchen.



There are lots of great gluten-free designs for T-shirts, magnets, baby attire, shopping bags, coffee mugs and other items fit for a goddess at Karina's site, so I would encourage you to check them out. They make lovely gifts for others and even for one's self!

Price Chopper Gluten-Free Food Festival

Attention Capital District residents!

Price Chopper is having a Gluten-Free Food festival on Monday, Jan. 7th from 6 pm to
8:30 pm at the Century House in Latham. I am going to go, having heard
from some buddies that the last time they did this was great. Elizabeth Barbone, author of "Easy Gluten-Free Baking" is going to be demonstrating how to make bread and there should be lots of great information and samples If you are interested, you need to call Price Chopper at 379-1617 to make a reservation.

Gluten-Free Holiday Cookies at Ft. Edward Bakery

The Saratoga Gluten-Free Goods elves have been hard at work in the kitchen churning out goodies and they are now selling a holiday cookie assortment at the Fort Edward Bakery, 192 Broadway (State Route 4) in Fort Edward, New York. Call the bakery at 518-747-5090 or stop by to scoop them up while supplies last. Wouldn't that make a great gift to bring to a holiday party or to give to your favorite wheat-free buddy? Beat me to the bakery!

Cinderella Sweet Treats

The Cinderella Sweets Bakery of Woodmere, New York, sent our family a sample package of some of their gluten-free sweets and I am delighted to report that all of the goodies we've tried have been really great. The company, founded by baker Cindy Itzkowitz, sells its gluten-free goodies under the name "Shabtai Gourmet" at many metropolitan NYC area supermarkets and does a lot of mail order sales.

We certainly tucked into these treats in a hurry. The non-celiac daughters who turn up their noses at most of my gluten-free concoctions scarfed up the Pecan Meltaway Crumbs in a flash, and the "I'm-allergic-to-coconut" daughter wolfed down half of a delicate Raspberry Roll coated with the tropical flakes. The Chocolate Seven Layer Cake was scrummy, and while I didn't like the Ladyfingers by themselves (they were a bit dry) they made a marvelous dessert layered with whipped cream and sliced, sugared strawberries. I still have some gluten-free Brownies and Ring Tings (like the similar-sounding snack cake) in the freezer to bring out later.

So Four Thumbs Up from our clan for these light and delicious gluten-free snacks. They are also certified kosher, so you can adorn your holiday table with safe, delicious, and fancy desserts if you are so inclined. If you live in the New York City/Long Island area, you can find Shabtai Gourmet treats at Shop Rite, Key Food and other supermarkets. The rest of us can call the bakery to order them through the mail at (516)652-5671.

*****December 18, 2007 Addendum***********

Four of the Shabtai Gourmet gluten-free items are now being offered on Amazon dot com. You can order Chocolate Chip Cookies ($7.00), Gluten-Free bread crumbs ($5.00), Ladyfingers ($5.00) and the divine Chocolate Pecan Meltaway Crumbs ($7.00). Free shipping if you order $25.00 or more.

Saratoga Gluten-Free Goods

I caught up with Jeanne and Marianne of the new baking company, Saratoga Gluten Free Goods, at their post at the Gansevoort Farmer's Market (open through the rest of the month on Thursdays from 3 pm to 6 pm) and was able to scoop up the last of their wheat-free baked goods. There were two loaves of multi-grain bread, one of which I gave to my celiac buddy Lisa that night as we carpooled off in a mad dash to attend the high school open house. Dan and I have yet to sample that, but it looked nicely browned and well-risen.

Dan gave two thumbs up to the cinnamon sugar donut holes and while he didn't favor the flavor of the Lemon Parmesan crackers, I really liked them. Marianne suggested making a dinner of them with some good cheese, apples and a glass of red wine. Sounds like a plan for tonight!

You can reach Saratoga Gluten Free Goods at their email address: saratogaglutenfree@mindspring.com for more information about their baking company and where we might be able to snap up their delicious goodies after the Gansevoort Farmers Market closes.

Gluten-Free Baked Goods at the local Farmers Market

The Gansevoort Farmers Market is a new institution this summer and has a lovely selection of vegetables, meats, and baked goods available from local vendors on Thursdays from 3 pm to 6 pm at the Village Green (corner of State Route 32 and Wilton-Gansevoort Road). I stopped by after work to catch some delicious gluten-free treats baked by Jeanne Daley and two of her buddies. I stocked up on Chocolate Chip Bars, Apple Pie Cookies, Fudge and a beautiful little loaf of French Bread which I sliced, toasted and topped with some of our garden tomatoes chopped up with some fresh garlic, basil, olive oil and vinegar. I then ran it back in the toaster oven with some grated cheese on top and what a treat for my gluten-free husband!

The Gansevoort Farmers Market will run through the end of October each Thursday and the variety gluten-free baked goods is promised to change weekly. If you are in the area, stop by and check it out!

Gluten-Free at the Dollar Store

Over the years I have haunted the local dollar store while killing time during the kids' tae kwon do and gymnastics lessons or in between regular errand runs, and I've always found some good deals: the handknit sweater in Muppet shades of blue, orange and purple which got many compliments until it got shrunk in the wash, duct tape, art supplies, calendars and all sorts of hair adornments. The food aisles, however, usually contain lots of "zoo food" as writer Jim Harrison dubs over-processed grub, chock full of high-fructose corn syrup, chemicals, dyes, and in the last year, WHEAT!

However, with the new refrigerated case that the Dollar Store folks added last year, Dan and I have begun to inspect the other grocery items, and while we are steering clear of the suspiciously-colored fish fillets, we have brought home some cheese. A lovely, runny, Wisconsin-made Brie as a matter of fact. So don't forget to inspect the dollar stores in your search of gluten-free eating so you can scoop up a bargain and help off-set the high price of this special diet.