I Ate Here: The 10th at Vail, Colorado

Perched at the top of Gondola One on Vale Mountain, The 10th offers not just beautiful views but also amazing gluten-free fare!  This is the most swoon-worthy stop I’ve made in a long while.

Image Courtesy of Vail.com

I’m an avid snow skier but rarely eat at on-hill restaurants.  First, there’s rarely anything I can eat and second, the restaurants aren’t usually spaces in which I’d like to take a break from skiing.  Vail is the exception to this, I’ve enjoyed on-hill food several times and The 10th is a great addition to their offerings.  The 10th was newly opened in the 2012/13 ski season.

All of that said, I didn’t visit The 10th mid-day while skiing.  My favorite fella surprised me with a nighttime visit to The 10th to celebrate Valentine’s Day.  Back when I was still eating gluten, one of my very favorite things to do was to have wine and dessert out. Not a full meal, just a glass of wine, maybe even a shared dessert.  That doesn’t happen often now, especially when there is only one restaurant in my home city where I can indulge in dessert.  What a sweet surprise!

On a lovely evening stroll through Vail Village, my fella steered me toward the gondola and suggested we go for a ride.  What?!? Well, ok…

We were tucked in a gondola with cozy blankets and spent about 8 minutes watching Vail Village slip away…

At the top of the gondola, this fella greeted us and took us on a quick Snow Cat ride to The 10th.

Inside The 10th, it is warm and welcoming.  Exposed timbers and stonework create a space that feels both rustic and elegant. A large fireplace consumes one wall of the lounge area.  Comfy seating is in abundance.  The dining area looked beautiful, but we were there for dessert and drinks and found our way to the lounge area.

A gluten-free menu awaited us. Wow!  Lots to choose from for meals AND desserts.  Pizzas, sandwiches, soups, all were available gluten-free.  This statement appears on the menu: “WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDING AN EXCEPTIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR OUR GUESTS WITH DIETARY RESTRICTIONS. PLEASE ALERT YOUR SERVER TO ANY ALLERGIES OR SENSITIVITIES WE MAY ACCOMMODATE.” And accommodate they did.  I had no fewer than four desserts to choose from.

We ordered drinks from the bar:

We indulged in the Baked Alaska:

And the Vanilla Pot de Creme with bruleed bananas:

Of all of the places I have dined gluten-free, The 10th is one of the few with a profound attitude of ease when it comes to gluten-free.  Every question I asked was answered knowledgeably and without hesitation. Surely there’s a more verbose way for me to describe it, but easy is what comes to mind.  Wouldn’t it be great if more restaurants made dining out gluten-free safe and easy?  If I had to take a gondola up a mountain to reach such restaurants, I would gladly do it!

The 10th is located at the base of Look Ma run at Mid-Vail. Beginners may ski into The 10th using Meadows from Chair 3 or 4, or using Over Easy from Chair 2. Beginners may ski out of The 10th by accessing Chair 3 or 4, by using Git-a-long road to ski to Chair 2 or the bottom, or by downloading on the new gondola at Mid Vail.  Foot passenger traffic for dinner is free up Gondola One, but for lunch a scenic ride ticket is required. The 10th is open for breakfast (coffee, hot chocolate and pastries fireside), lunch and dinner.  I would suggest a reservation for lunch or dinner, 970-754-1010.

Eat With:  Very Minimal Caution.  A gluten-free menu is available and the staff I encountered were very knowledgeable.

Johnna’s I Ate Here series is not intended as a restaurant review, rather a summary of Johnna’s experience dining out.  You may or may not have a similar experience.  Menu prices, items and ingredients featured were current at the time of writing.  Please read the menu carefully and ask your server for assistance in ordering if you have dietary restrictions. It’s a good idea to call ahead and let the restaurant know of your food needs. 

Pasta Carbonara, reinvented without the wheat, meat or dairy

Recently a friend said to me, “Oh, I feel so bad for you. I would just die if I couldn’t eat pasta or dairy.”

I explained I still eat my share of pasta.  And I’m not missing dairy because I use non-dairy milk, eat non-dairy cheeses, even yogurt.

Then came, “But bacon would be the real problem for me. I couldn’t do all of that AND be vegetarian.”  Well, I’ve got that covered, too.

So I asked for a challenge.  I asked my friend to share with me a recipe that she would imagine to be impossible for me to eat.  Pasta Carbonara was the challenge.  It took just two tries for me to figure out a Pasta Carbonara that passed the test, got a thumbs up from the friend who, it turns out, wouldn’t really die without wheat, dairy or bacon.

I Ate Here: La Bodega, Kansas City, MO and Leawood, KS

I’m a sucker for a restaurant with a patio.  And happy hour.  I love a happy hour bargain.

La Bodega delivers on both counts.  Half price drinks, including sangria (even by the pitcher) and tapas are offered from 2 to 6 PM Monday-Friday, 2 to 4 PM on Saturday and 4 to 6 PM on Sunday.

The menu at La Bodega has items clearly labeled gluten-free and/or vegetarian.  It makes ordering easy for me. It’s still a good idea to confirm with your server and let them know if you have a medical necessity to be gluten-free.

For a recent early dinner, I had sangria with white wine. During happy hours, you can get pitchers for around $15!

While not on the special price happy hour menu, I almost always get the Aceitunas Alinades.  La Bodega’s house marinated olives with spices and fresh herbs is one of my favorite indulgences.

Another of my favorites is Champinones a la Plancha.  Roasted mushrooms with garlic and white wine-parsley sauce makes a hearty addition to the meal.  The sauce is rich, the mushrooms perfectly roasted and just the right amount of garlic to know it’s there without overpowering the other ingredients.

The Espinacas de Catalanas is an interesting take on spinach.  For those who aren’t fans of cooked spinach, this dish could change your mind.  And it’s also surprising to have orange juice used in a hot dish.  In addition to the spinach and orange juice, this dish includes raisins, apricots and pine nuts.

Judias Verdes, which includes roasted potatoes, green beans and figs in a walnut-fig dressing, is a hearty dish.  I think this would make a small meal for one person, it’s a generous serving.

I’ve got one more dish to share with you, but must warn you I cannot get verification on how it is cooked.  While listed as gluten-free, it is flash-fried.  I have tried twice to get confirmation on how it is cooked and received conflicting information.  If you are gluten-free by medical necessity, I suggest avoiding this dish.  Pimientas de Shoshito featurees shoshito peppers tossed with smoked Spanish paprika and sea salt.  Each time I’ve dine with others who have had this dish, they ooooh and ahhh about it.  If I can confirm how it is cooked, I’ll update here so we can all enjoy it!

Beyond the patio, I enjoy the interior dining areas of both locations.  And on a very girly note, they have some of the nicest restaurant bathrooms in the area.  It may be wrong for me to judge a restaurant based on the restrooms, but it does play into the experience especially if one indulges in a pitcher of sangria.

La Bodega has two locations in the KC area.  The original location is at 702 Southwest Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 816.472.TAPA.  The location featured in this post is located at 4311 W. 119th Street, Leawood, KS, 913.428.TAPA.

Eat With: moderate caution.  As mentioned above, I was unable to confirm the cooking method of one dish labeled as gluten-free.  The menu has dishes that contain no gluten ingredients clearly labeled.

Johnna’s I Ate Here series is not intended as a restaurant review, rather a summary of Johnna’s experience dining out.  You may or may not have a similar experience.  Menu prices, items and ingredients featured were current at the time of writing.  Please read the menu carefully and ask your server for assistance in ordering if you have dietary restrictions. It’s a good idea to call ahead and let the restaurant know of your food needs. 

I Ate This: Daiya Frozen Pizza

Whole Foods did it again, they sucked me into the frozen food aisle.  I find myself there every few months, usually on the way home from a 12-hour or longer work day, looking for something fast for dinner when I haven’t planned well.  And also something  slightly-less-objectionable than most processed, frozen food for this mostly-healthy eating girl.

So yeah, about that…We don’t eat a lot of processed food here, but we do eat Daiya cheese.  I was teaching a cooking class a few months back and suggested Daiya as a dairy-free pizza topping for my favorite homemade gluten-free crust.  A woman in class, can of Diet Coke in hand, read the ingredients on the Daiya bag and said she would not ever eat that as it was created in a lab, not in a kitchen.  Here’s my thing about that: I can’t eat regular cheese. Well, at least not without some pretty serious protests from my body.  Daiya is the least objectionable alternative for me.  I don’t drink Diet Coke, some folks don’t eat Daiya.  We all have to decide where the line is, it’s not the same for each of us.  My line has a curve in it that allows me to occasionally have Daiya.  And also a frozen pizza.  Just being real with all of you.

The Daiya frozen pizzas were a splurge, about $10 each.  My favorite fella pointed out to me when I was able to call and order pizza delivered to our front door, I wouldn’t have hesitated to drop $20 on a pizza or two.  Somehow it seems different when it’s frozen in a box at the grocery store, but it is also made with organic toppings and crust ingredients, something our local pizza place doesn’t offer.  Oh, and it’s gluten-free and dairy-free.  It’s also free of the top 8 allergens and vegan.  The tomatoes are from Italy.  So maybe it’s worth $10.

The pizzas are smaller than the box looks but on the large end of the frozen gluten-free pizzas I’ve tried.  The box suggests a crazy high heat for the pizzas, 500 degrees.  We followed the convection  instructions, 450 degrees, instead.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen instructions calling for 500 degrees. That’s screaming hot!

Roasted Garlic & Mushroom before baking

Fire-Roasted Vegetable before baking

We tried two varieties: Roasted Garlic & Mushroom and Fire-Roasted Vegetable.  I gotta tell you, the house smelled so good while these were baking.  Both of the varieties we tried included roasted garlic  and there was no doubt plenty of garlic on the pizzas. One could tell that just from the aroma.  Hot from the oven, I sliced both pizzas and found the crust held up to being eating without a fork, no soggy, limp, fall-apart gluten-free crust here.

Roasted Garlic & Mushroom after baking

Fire-Roasted Vegetable after baking

The toppings were plentiful, nothing skimpy on the pizza except maybe the sauce.  There were a few spots where I spotted completely bare crust.  But in eating the pizza, I wouldn’t have said it needed more sauce, it was more a visual observation.

With a salad or some other side, I think one pizza could serve two adults.  I would probably buy these again if I had a coupon or caught them on sale.  I’m still hesitant to buy a $10 frozen pizza, but this one tempts me.

Living Foods Pad Thai Wraps

Last week I went to a raw foods potluck.  I was almost overwhelmed, everything on the buffet was safe for me to eat!

I can’t remember the last time I had a plate of food like this, unless I had prepared it all myself.  There is so much joy in sharing a meal with others, especially when it is the same meal, when all of the food can be enjoyed by everyone gathered around the table.

My contributions to the potluck were my Brigadeiros, a decadent chocolate truffle with healthy ingredients, and these Pad Thai wraps.

The wraps were inspired by this recipe, shared by Heather at Gluten-Free Cat.  Heather hosts Raw Foods Thursdays and attends raw potlucks often.  She inspired me to give it a try and I’m glad I did.  I met fun folks at the potluck, heard Dave the Raw Food Trucker speak again and ate lots of delicious food.  Plus there was homebrew Kombucha, which makes my body sing.  I hope to go to a potluck like this again soon, but in the meantime, I’m gonna make more of these wraps.

About these wraps:  I used a dehydrator to make the wrap, but they may also work in the oven on the lowest possible temperature.  If you try it, let me know.  And the sauce….well, you’ll want to make it again and again.  It’s great not just on these wraps but drizzled over just about any vegetable dish.  Or straight off a spoon.  Not that I would do that…

A word on preparing these wraps ahead of time:  the carrot flax wraps will absorb the moisture of the filling and crumble.  If you need to make them ahead of time, I suggest wrapping each wrap in a paper towel. This helps some, but the best way to enjoy these is to make them and immediately eat them.  It’s hard not to anyway!

I’m linking this post up with Gluten Free Cat’s Raw Foods Thursday.  Click on over and take a look at all of the goodness folks are sharing!

How To Be Gluten Free, a wonderful new e-book from Gluten Free Homemaker

I so clearly remember the day my doctor said gluten had to go.  I remember her handing me a one-page list of things I would no longer be eating, cautioning me that it would be challenging and sending me on my way.

But I’m tough.  I like a challenge.  I could do this!

That attitude lasted until I reached my car in the doctor’s office parking lot.  Total meltdown.  I realized there would be no more donuts (or so I thought at the time).  I had no idea how I would eat out again. How would I keep my food gluten-free while sharing the kitchen?  What about the holidays?  YIKES!

I drove from the doctor’s office to Borders and bought two books.  One was a beautiful tale of a woman’s journey to becoming gluten-free and making food that was far from my typical 15 minute dinners.  The other was a dessert cookbook that required lots of exotic flours I had never heard of.  So I could make a cupcake and a dinner that required 3 days of prep work.  Yay. What I really needed was the wonderful new e-book from Linda of GlutenFreeHomemaker,  How to be Gluten Free.

This book is a great resource for those newly diagnosed or new to eating gluten-free.  It’s also a great read for family members of those who must be gluten-free.  In the book you’ll find information on everything from dealing with the emotions of changing how you eat to eating out to packing lunches to learning to bake again.  This book is now my number one recommendation when someone tells me they are new to gluten-free eating.

For those of us not so new to gluten-free eating, you’ll enjoy this book, too.  There are lots of great tidbits, a good refresher for those of us who have been eating gluten-free for years.

Today and tomorrow only (May 21-22, 2013), this e-book is available for FREE on Amazon.  You don’t need a Kindle to read e-books from Amazon, they’ve got lots of free reading apps to allow you to read e-books on your iPhone, iPad, even on your desktop.  If you’re reading this after May 22nd, I still encourage you to buy this book.  It’s a valuable resource far beyond the purchase price.  Happy reading!

Strawberry Rhubarb Quinoa Crumble, A Sweet Start to the Week

It’s finally springtime here.  For us Midwestern folks, that means rhubarb and morel mushrooms are making their way into the kitchens of those with a good connection.

And a good connection I have!  My sweet friend Judy brought rhubarb to me from her garden in Iowa.  I enjoy eating rhubarb, but have limited experience cooking and baking with it and have never tried to grow it.  Judy cautioned me, “Don’t juice or eat the greens, they are poisonous!”  Now what would make anyone think I’d attempt to juice those beautiful, dark, leafy greens atop the rhubarb stalks?

The area where this rhubarb exchange took place had limited cell service for me, so I couldn’t immediately use my phone to research why I shouldn’t eat the greens.  My guess was high levels of oxalic acid (yes, this is how my food nerd brain works) but I couldn’t imagine how high the levels would have to be for it to become toxic.  Turns out it is oxalic acid and one would have to eat a pretty hefty amount of the greens for them to be deadly. But juicing them doesn’t sound like a good idea at all, since I’m guessing removing the insoluble fiber would make the absorption of the oxalates more rapid.

So I stuck with a more traditional preparation of rhubarb.  I made a strawberry rhubarb crumble with a few less-than-traditional ingredients like quinoa and bourbon.  Yep, bourbon.  I heard once it’s good for digestion.  Really, I heard that somewhere.

A quick tip on the quinoa flour:  you can buy quinoa flour at many stores now but if you already have quinoa in your pantry, just turn it into flour using a high speed blender, spice or coffee mill.  It can be a challenge to keep everything in the pantry fresh, so why keep two items in the pantry when you can keep just one?  I do this with quite a few other ingredients, including flax seed.  Anything I can do to keep my food fresh, cost and waste down, wins with me!

Brigadeiros, a luscious chocolate truffle with good-for-you ingredients

I have a fascination with Brazilian food.  This might surprise you if your idea of Brazilian food is visiting a churrascaria to eat endless mounds of meat cooked on a skewer.  What would a plant-based eater have in common with a meat-on-a-stick way of eating?

Nope, it’s not about the meat for me.  It’s about the breads, the crepes, the desserts, made without gluten.  Naturally gluten-free, always have been.

But here’s the thing (there’s always a *thing* with me and food)…many of the Brazilian desserts I like best are made with sweetened, condensed milk.  That doesn’t work well for me, so I wanted to find a way around it.  Then I started thinking about how that became the Brazilian way in the first place. How did a processed food become an essential ingredient in the desserts of a country so rich with fresh products, fruits, seeds, nuts?  It was because of World War II food shortages.  Nestle introduced sweetened, condensed milk and cocoa powder to Brazil to compensate for their shortages of fruits and nuts.  Interesting!

Since we aren’t currently short of unprocessed foods, I’m reinventing the Brigadeiro.  My version is free of dairy and refined sugar, it’s technically raw and vegan if that’s how you like to eat.  You can also make it nut free if you prefer. Instead of rolling the truffles in the traditional chocolate sprinkles, I’ve rolled mine in cacao nibs.  You could also roll them in finely shredded, unsweetened coconut.  Any way you go about it, these are decadent, luscious bites of chocolate.  Enjoy!

Oh!  One more thing…there’s still time to enter my giveaway for a signed copy of Michael Pollan’s new book, Cooked.  Click here to enter.

I’m linking this post up with Gluten Free Cat’s Raw Foods Thursdays ,  Wellness Weekend at Diet, Dessert and Dogs and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free.  Drop by to see all of the goodness folks have shared this week!

Maple Sesame Tofu

Often I hear folks say, “I tried making tofu once and it didn’t work out so well.”  Or, “Tofu has NO flavor, it was like flavorless mush!”

I’m here to save the day, to right the tofu-wrongs of your past! 

See, tofu is actually one of the easiest proteins to cook.  Once you’ve got the basics down, it’s quick, easy, inexpensive…AND it’s going to be full of flavor if you play along with me.  The comment about tofu having NO flavor is accurate, you get to decide what flavor it has by creating wonderful sauces, glazes and marinades.

Today’s recipe is Maple Sesame Tofu which is pan-seared tofu topped with an intensely flavorful sauce.  Well, actually it’s somewhere between a sauce and a glaze.  I’ll share with you step-by-step how I prepare this tofu in hopes it is the recipe that changes your thinking, in hopes you’ll give tofu another chance.

First, you need to drain your extra-firm block of tofu.  Open the package, drain the fluid around it.  Place the tofu in a colander.  I have a rectangular one with a flat bottom I use for tofu, but any colander will work.  Atop the tofu, place something similar shaped, like a saucer and then place something heavy on top of it, like a can of beans.  This will press out liquid.  I let this sit for an hour or so, twenty minutes at a minimum.  Sometimes, in a hurry, I’ll press the tofu as long as time allows, then wrap it in a few paper towels and give it a gentle squeeze.

Second, cut the tofu into cubes.  Mine are about 1/2″ cubes.  Heat a large skillet on medium with just enough toasted sesame oil to cover the bottom of the pan with a light coating of oil.  Not to much, just enough to help the tofu not stick.

Third, put your tofu in the pan.  Toss the cubes often just so they get a nice brown on each side.  This will take only 4-5 minutes total.  It happens quick.

Add the sauce and cook until the sauce has reduced by about two thirds.

If you want the sauce to be more like a glaze than a sauce, this is the time to add just a tablespoon of honey.  This will quickly become a thick, sticky glaze on your tofu.

Remove from heat and serve over rice or my Sweet Potato Japchae.

See, easy!  I hope you’ll give it a try.  It’s seriously good stuff and will dazzle your tastebuds.

Michael Pollan’s Cooked: a review and a signed copy giveaway

Friday evening my favorite fella and I went to hear Michael Pollan speak in Kansas City.  He was speaking in support of his new book, Cooked.

I need to come clean before I tell you about this new book.  I’m a big fan of Michael Pollan.  His book Food Rules was published at a critical turning point in my journey to health.  I read it when I was beginning to realize I had been successful in eating for weight loss, but I had not been successful in acquiring health.  In fact, I had been healthier at 300+ pounds than I was at my lowest weight.  I had been eating lots of food-like-products that were labeled “light” or “nonfat,”  I ate lots of faux meat products, that while plant-based, were far from nutritious and very processed.  But they helped me lose weight, so they must have been good for me, right?  Wrong. Food Rules was one of the books that helped me figure out what I needed to put into my body so I could feel good, take good care of my body and the place I call home.  It’s all connected.

For years now, I’ve had a few of my favorite Food Rules posted on the wall of my office.  They include:

Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.

Pay more, eat less.

Eat only foods that will eventually rot.

If it comes from a plant, eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don’t.

Break the rules once in awhile.

That last one is important to me.  If you’ve been reading here long, you know I got my start as a food blogger writing about donuts.  I make no excuses for this, it was my once-a-week way to break the rules.  Then I transitioned to writing about gluten-free sweets, a continuation of my once-a-week indulgence.  While I certainly make healthier choices now when I do choose to break the rules, I still break the rules.  It’s a constant journey for me and Food Rules has been a great travel companion for the trip.

I tell you this so you know I’m not going to deliver a traditional book review here.

I like this new book almost as much as Food Rules.  It is a memoir of sorts of Michael Pollan’s journey to learn to cook using the four elements and his time spent with experts in each area: fire (BBQing), water (braising), air (bread making) and earth (fermenting).  It’s a fascinating look into how we have gotten so far away from traditional cooking and what steps we can take to get back there.

The first chapter of the book, titled Why Cook?, depleted my highlighter.  I finally stopped highlighting and just made a margin note that this chapter was full of important information.  A few things that stood out to me:

Americans spend less time cooking than any other nation.

Millions of people spend more time watching food cooked on TV than they spend cooking for themselves.

Cooking is the most important thing an ordinary person can do to help reform the American food system, to make it healthier and more sustainable.

The following chapters of the book can only be described as hard to put down.  In the midst of a busy weekend, I devoured this entire book.  Something I thought would never interest me, cooking a whole hog over an open fire, became fascinating reading.  My appreciation for fermented foods has only deepened, jars and jars of sauerkraut will be delivered as Christmas gifts this year.  Each section of the book includes a recipe but I wouldn’t describe this as a cookbook, it’s a much deeper look into food and the act of cooking it.

About the bread portion of the book…while speaking on Friday night, Michael Pollan took audience questions.  One of the first was, “What do you think about the book Wheat Belly?”  His response was something like, “I don’t think much about it. I haven’t read it.”  He went on to say he feels gluten is being demonized, that he can’t imagine as many people have a true problem with gluten as are eliminating it.  Then he said it isn’t possible to create an airy loaf of bread without gluten.  Whoa.  (You may recall I heard Alton Brown say something similar.) Right behind my fascination with cultured and fermented foods is a fascination with perfecting gluten-free bread.  I disagree with him on this point but still enjoyed the section of the book dedicated to bread and the love that goes into making bread.  In fact, it has provided information I think will be helpful in my bread-baking adventures.

While thanking Michael Pollan for the impact Food Rules has had on my life, I told him I’m gluten-free (not by choice) and am working hard on creating that perfect loaf of bread.  He was definitely interested and wanted to know what I’m using for flour. We chatted for just a couple of minutes and I left feeling better about his comment that gluten is being demonized.  I think he may be right about that. I worry that gluten-free is a trendy diet for many yet a lifesaving step for many of us.  If nothing else, he has me thinking about how I can help more folks get into the kitchen, whether they have to eat gluten-free or not.  I know not all of you have to eat gluten-free and the wheels are turning over here for me to find a way to reduce the amount of labels placed on food or recipes that is simply healthy.  I don’t think it matters so much what we call healthy food, just that we get into the kitchen and cook it.  I think that’s the point of this book, after all.

So go buy this book, would ya?  If you’ve got an awesome independent bookseller in your town, go get it there.  It’s because of Rainy Day Books, the local store in my area, that Michael Pollan was in town.  I’m grateful for them.

Oh, WAIT!  I’ve got a signed copy to give away…

I got a copy of Cooked signed to give to one lucky reader.  There’s a rafflecopter gizmo below for you to enter.  The winner will be selected on May 20th, 2013 and will have 24 hours to respond to the prize notification. Good luck and happy cooking!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kale, Cheese and Onion Enchiladas, Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free!

After all of the Cinco de Mayo celebrating in the last week, I was hesitant to share an enchilada recipe. I thought maybe you were tired of cheesy, saucy, Mexican food.  That could happen, right?

Then I noticed my kale plants had been growing like weeds, very fast-growing weeds!  All of the rain we have had here apparently has fed my kale well and the plants have gone from tiny transplants to robust plants.  Soon I’ll be harvesting kale.  Perhaps you will be, too, and you’ll need lots of recipes to use your kale.  It’s a generous plant, kale, and soon it will be all about kale smoothies, kale salads, kale enchiladas…

These enchiladas come together very quickly and make a great weeknight dinner.  While I’ve used canned enchilada sauce, it can be tricky to find one that is gluten-free.  I recommend The Gluten-Free Homemaker’s Enchilada Sauce if you have a few moments to make your own.  Linda’s recipe is very easy and uses  ingredients common in the kitchen pantry. Make it vegetarian buy using vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and you’re all set!

I’ve used Daiya wedges for cheese in this recipe.  While they do make shredded cheese, I like the flavor of the Jalapeno Garlic Havarti.  I also think shredding the wedges provides a better melting cheese than buying the shreds.

I Ate Here: Karyn’s on Green, Chicago

I have a list of must-visit vegetarian restaurants, spots all over the country.  I’ve compiled this list based on recommendations from fellow food writers, friends, sometimes complete strangers who I encounter on this crazy journey of mine.  When talking Chicago restaurants, Karyn’s on Green comes up often.  I was excited to have an opportunity to dine there recently.

While on a whirlwind one-day visit to Chicago to celebrate my birthday, I ate my way across town.  It was cold, in the 40′s, and rained most of the day. But I’m not one to give in to a little weather, especially not in a city like Chicago.  Oh, who am I kidding? I could eat way across any city…

Soggy and chilled to the bone, hands full of shopping bags, my favorite fella and I were welcomed into Karyn’s.  We were on the early end of dinner, so the restaurant wasn’t full.  We were indulged in my request for a table near the windows.  I had a sneaking suspicion I would want to take photos of the food, the light streaming in the tall windows on the front of the restaurant was gorgeous.  It’s a beautiful space, airy and open, white tablecloths, tables that aren’t crowded together, a large bar area.

We started off with cocktails.  Isn’t this fruity margarita concoction pretty? 

While perusing the menu, I noticed only one gluten-free entree on the completely vegan menu.  We decided we would piece together a meal of starters and sides instead.  I actually prefer this to ordering just one dish, as I get to try out more of the goodness.

We started with the aged cheese platter.  If you go to Karyn’s for no other reason than this cheese platter, it will be worth the trip.

Five flavors of cheese were on the platter.  One of the green wedges was a cheese made with kale.  You know I was in heaven!  The other green cheese was made with blue green algae.  The cheeses, nut based and raw vegan, are aged a minimum of 3 months.  The cheeses were served with raw crackers, microgreens, a sliced apple and a drizzle of agave.  I could have gone home happy if we had nothing else, but you know we didn’t stop with just the cheese platter.

Next up was the sunflower hummus.  The was one of the creamiest hummus dishes I’ve tried.

We were close to being full at this point but our server said if I was truly a kale aficionado, it was necessary that I try their kale slaw.  So we did.  Another beautiful dish packed with flavor.  I would describe it as more a salad than a slaw.

And because I’m almost as fond of Brussels sprouts as kale, we had the Caramelized Brussels Sprouts in Mustard Vinaigrette.  Wow, were these spicy!  You know that sneaky heat from the little packet of mustard that comes with Chinese take-out?  It was that kind of heat.  Not only did this dish taste great, it cleared my sinuses!

Since it was my birthday, we decided to split a dessert.  There was only one gluten-free option on the day of our visit, the blondie with ice cream. It was a nice way to wrap up a lovely meal at a spot I had long wished to visit.

Karyn’s on Green is located at 130 South Green Street in Chicago, Illinois. 312.226.6155.  You might also like to visit her other spots, including Karyn’s Raw and Karyn’s Cooked.  You’ll find info on those here.

Eat With:  Very minimal caution.  On my visit, the staff seemed very well educated.  Our server took a moment to confirm with the bartender which of their signature cocktails was gluten-free.  The menu is very clearly marked with GF next to all of the gluten-free offerings.  It’s still a good idea to mention to your server what your restrictions are so they can alert the kitchen.

Johnna’s I Ate Here series is not intended as a restaurant review, rather a summary of Johnna’s experience dining out.  You may or may not have a similar experience.  Menu prices, items and ingredients featured were current at the time of writing.  Please read the menu carefully and ask your server for assistance in ordering if you have dietary restrictions. It’s a good idea to call ahead and let the restaurant know of your food needs.