"My Favorite Restaurant is my Kitchen"

Since going gluten free eating out has lost its appeal and everything that "tastes" good is off limits. It has forced me to find good recipes for meals at home and be creative with the food that is gluten free. This week I discovered some new favorites and had to share because they are great even for the non-gluten free eater!

Flank Steak with Coffee-Peppercorn Marinade (pictured here)

3 tablespoons strong brewed coffee

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 pound flank steak, trimmed of fat

Whisk coffee, vinegar, oil, sugar, garlic, peppercorns and salt in a glass dish large enough for meat to lie flat. Add steak and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 8 hours. (I marinated it all day while I was at work)

Coat a skillet with cooking spray and cook on medium high heat for 5 minutes on each side for medium.

Cut in slices and top with crumbled feta cheese. (I like the precrumbled fat free feta from Trader Joes)

Fresh Corn Salad

4 ears of fresh corn

1 lime juiced

1 avocado
1 tomato
salt and pepper to taste

Boil corn in stock pot for about 10 minutes or longer for desired tenderness. Let cool and cut corn off the cob. Mix together the freshly cut corn with lime juice and fold in chunks of avocado and tomato. Finish off with salt and pepper.

Salmon with Lemon, Capers and Rosemary

4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary leaves (I didn't have any on hand so I used dried, I am sure it would be even better fresh)
8 lemon slices (about 2 lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1/2 cup Marsala wine (or white wine)
4 teaspoons capers

4 pieces of aluminum foil

Brush top and bottom of salmon fillets with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and rosemary. Place each piece of seasoned salmon on a piece of foil large enough to fold over and seal. Top the each piece of salmon with 2 lemon slices, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of wine, and 1 teaspoon of capers. Wrap up salmon tightly in the foil packets.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat (I did it this way) or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Place the foil packets on the hot grill and cook for 10 minutes for a 1-inch thick piece of salmon. Serve in the foil packets.

Roasted Potatoes (these were outstanding and I can't wait to have them again!)

Preheat oven to 400

3 pounds baking potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup beef stock or chicken stock (I used gluten free chicken stock)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano (optional)

Place the potatoes in a single layer in a 13-x-9-inch baking dish and pour the oil over them. Add the garlic, dried oregano, salt and pepper to taste and toss well to coat with the oil. Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Add the stock, toss and bake for 10 minutes more. Add the lemon juice, toss and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, or until the potatoes are cooked through. If you like, preheat the broiler and broil the potatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown.

Sprinkle with the fresh oregano and serve at once. (optional)

D Day

It's demo day in the Remsnyder house. We are saying bye bye to the hideous bathrooms and hello to new stuff. I only wish I had pictures to share.

The blog has been neglected while we shopped, planned, and poured ourself in to these projects. Not to mention we took on caring for a turtle (that Seth "rescued"-more on that later), dogsat for a friend, installed a chandelier (it only took all of Saturday and 2 trips to the hardware store to accomplish), planted flowers in the garden, and we are almost done with the guest room for Mom's arrival next week.

Home Depot, Lowes and the Great Indoors have become my new "favorite" places to shop and never in my life have I ever cherished a 10% percent off coupon so much. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As if we weren't taking on enough upstairs, our basement is getting an overhaul this coming weekend too. Hannah's dad is a super handy (and did I mention...generous?!) guy and he is coming down from OH to remodel the basement bathroom with David and Lord willing installing a new sliding door.

I promise we will back. Soon and very soon. Just wait for it.

We Love Kristen

For more on Kristen and us go here.

Gluten-Free

Where do I start? For someone who has battled often mysterious medical issues for years now, it is so strange to me that something so simple could make all the difference in the world. I went gluten free a little over two weeks ago. Cold turkey, cut it out of my diet and aside from a few small temptations, I haven't looked back.

Rewind. For most of my life there were so many foods that would make me sick. But it was hard to pinpoint what it was. Almost every meal had some effect on my stomach/digestion. In some ways it was so expected that food would make me sick that it became somewhat comical. It was like clock work, input, and then output. In spite of the humor of the situation, it made enjoying food so difficult and I clung to my favorite foods often convincing myself that bread and pasta couldn't be the problem. I tried cutting out dairy, sugar, fast food, and a variety of other things only to come up with empty solutions.

That all changed when a friend suggested that gluten might be the problem. Gluten, whats that I thought to myself? And that, may just be the problem. No blood tests have been done yet to reveal what the conclusive problem is, but needless to say, if gluten wasn't the problem I don't know what was. I have been able to digest food the way you are supposed to, I have had more energy than I have ever had, and I haven't gone to bed feeling bloated and lethargic since I made the dietary change.

It's a good test for me, I love pizza, french fries, pasta, and ice cream. But I wouldn't trade them for anything now that I have tasted how good life feels without them. And as I have done more research on the topic I have learned that it is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions there is out there and it is on the rise. In a world of processed food choices and chemically produced products/ingredients it really doesn't surprise me. And I was one of them.

So what do I eat now? More fruit, vegetables, beans, meat, and lots of brown rice and corn. It's been a mix of refreshing and challenging at the same time. All my long researched/favorite recipes are being tossed and I have been on the hunt for good tasting gluten free meals. (If you know of any send them my way!)