Weekend Sustenance

I usually have very little interest in cooking on the weekends, and for the most part, this past one was no exception. After a long week at work, Jeff and I were craving a relaxing night of takeout and a movie, so I got to scouting the options. There are a number of restaurants in Boise that offer gluten-free options, if not a whole gluten-free menu, and we settled on teriyaki chicken, brown rice, and veggie bowls from a local spot. This is a go to meal in our house anyway, and we'll be revisiting it again and again. After dinner, I was craving chocolate, so I baked up the box of Betty Crocker gluten-free brownies that I'd purchased last weekend. I may never eat a regular brownie again - these were super rich and fudgy, and while I served myself two, I could only finish one. If you know me and dessert, that is saying something major!

On Saturday morning, I surveyed the kitchen for ingredients to make a hearty breakfast. I grabbed two big, ripe peaches, a couple cups of oatmeal, some brown sugar, eggs, and butter, and concocted a baked oatmeal. There wasn't even time to take a picture before it was gobbled up, but I have a feeling that Jeff will be requesting this one next weekend so I'll be able to show you the goods. On Saturday night, we ventured out for dinner, picking the one restaurant in town that I knew has gluten-free beer - TableRock Brewpub and Grill. For a pretty standard bar and grill, Tablerock has multiple gluten-free items on the menu, and we ordered just about all of them. Buffalo chicken bites, french fries, a steak salad for me and shepherd's pie for Jeff...we practically had to be rolled out of the place. All great, plus Jeff's gluten-free beer tasted just like normal beer. Success!

On Sunday, we had the rest of the baked oatmeal for breakfast and snacked on some gluten-free chips that I'd picked up. We were due at a family friend's house for dinner, and were planning to ditch our gluten-free challenge for one night so as not to inconvenience our hosts, but when we were asked to bring gluten-free bread, we knew our secret was out. I picked up a frozen loaf from the Boise Co-op which turned out, once defrosted, to taste very little like french bread, but quite yummy nonetheless. It had a cheesy consistency and hard crust, and even the non-gluten-free eaters among us munched on it with the rest of the meal. Our hosts made a beautiful pot roast, mashed potatoes, carrots, and squash, plus vanilla ice cream and baked apples for dessert, so we were once again very content at the end of the meal.

Going into Week #2, I'm feeling great. I really love all the fruits, veggies, and protein we have in the house, grocery shopping has been more thought provoking, and I'm considering the meals I make in a whole, new way. Jeff is headed out of town this week, and I am this weekend, so we'll see how we do while we're in transit. Wish us luck!