My Birthday Delights

It's my birthday and I'll eat if (and how) I want to!

For breakfast Patch is making me pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream. YUM! She's making it right now (yes, I slept in for my birthday)

I think I'll try making baked cucumber strips today with cucumber from the garden for lunch. Here's the recipe from delish I'm thinking of: http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/oven-fried-zucchini-sticks-recipe-5380 although I am planning to use gluten free flour in order to test out the recipe and if it works, I'll make some for a friend of mine on a gluten free diet some time. If it turns out to be great, I'll post the recipe.

I know, shock of all shockers, we have a garden in the desert. It requires a special flooding technique to grow fruits and vegetables in our back yard. Twice a week Patch and Carlie drag the hose over there and flood the 6 by 6 area we've designated for growing fruits and vegetables. They've built it with ridges all around, so it's easy to flood between the ridges. So far we've really enjoyed the cantalope and cucumbers. It looks like the corn will be ready next. Things seem to be growing in alphabetical order which is hilarious. I wonder if the watermelon will be ready last. Speaking of which, if you want a watermelon and live in the area, please do let us know. Patch and Carlie won't be able to eat them all on their own.

I am allergic to watermelon. On a funny side note, we did not plant the melons, they were in the compost. If you don't want things you've eaten to magically grow in your garden, throw the seeds in the trash. But if you enjoy surprise fruits and vegetables, put those seeds in your compost. That's how we got our tomatoe bush as well. It grew right out the side of the compost bin. Composting our fruits and vegetables mixed with a slight bit of starter manure from the horse stable down the street has been the real miracle key to growing things in the desert. Now we have grown beans, cantalope, cucumber, corn, peas, tomatoes and watermelon. The beans sprouted and then died because the weather really did get too hot for those spindly little vines to stand up to. But I can see growing them again at the begining of next spring.

For my birthday dinner we will be eating food from The Original Burrito Company over in Ahwatukee. They recently moved into the building KFC used to inhabit. It's even got a drive through! I am so happy for them that they have been able to expand their business in such a way. Local, family run businesses doing well makes my heart happy. So supporting a local family owned business on my birthday and eating a special treat from my favorite restaurant is a great combination. So although I'm intolerant to chicken, I'm going to have a big ol' chicken, bean and cheese burrito for dinner.

I'm not supposed to be eating cake either, but for my birthday was told by both my integrative and endocrynology doctors to splurge. So we'll be having angel food cake, strawberries and whipped cream from a spray can. Not exactly healthy, but occasionally it helps me stick to eating healthy foods if I splurge with the occasional sweet treat that reminds me of the foods we ate growing up. Angel food cake with all it's big fluffy delight and big fresh strawberries on top reminds me of Irvine. Summer in Irvine used to mean going out to the strawberry fields and picking through the leftovers. They would sell whatever you could fit in your bag for a buck. Fresh, hand picked, and delishous strawberries! What a great sensory memory for my 39th birthday.

The Farm at South Mountain

Today my Mom and Hal were in town and stopped by for lunch and a movie. We decided to take them to a place that serves local foods, The Farm at South Mountain. There are actually three restaurants there, but we went to the original Farm Kitchen and ate on the patio. It's beautiful, and they had a man there playing his guitar and singing. A nice, moderately priced Sunday brunch. I had the local  pulled pork sandwich, Mom and Hal had carrot soup and a really nice spicy chicken salad. I'm not remembering what Carlie had. I think I'll go back some time with friends before it closes for the summer and see what it's like during the week. There were some really nice salads that I could see my vegetarian friends enjoying, and they were willing to make my pulled pork without the cole slaw, which made me happy. I don't know what it is about the texture of cole slaw, but I have always hated the stuff.

I will admit, there were some noisy children sitting near us who didn't help my migraine any, but after they left I found the noise levels tolerable and there was a shady spot for everyone so I was even able to take off my sunglasses for a while. It feels a bit secluded and out of the way because of all the beautiful plant life surrounding you. Exactly the kind of place I love to eat. Mom took some nice photos so maybe I'll add those to the blog once she sends them my way. In the mean time, here's a couple I snapped with my cell phone. More details:

The Farm Kitchen 
Picnic and Patio Lunch

6106 South 32nd Street

Phoenix, AZ 85042-4810

(602) 276-7288

The Farm Kitchen is the original restaurant at The Farm serving delicious sandwiches, fresh soups, seasonal salads and made-from-scratch baked goods. Relax alone under the shady pecan trees or bring a group to celebrate an occasion.
"Picnic-n-Paris" : LIVE music every Sunday featuring local legend Paris James

Open Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-3pm
Open Mother's Day, 10am-3pm

The Farm Kitchen Summer Hiatus:
Monday, May 31st -
Monday, September 6th

Gluten-Free Gormet Pizza Delivery?!?! YES!

Since I am currently living on a set income due to my disability, I can't often eat out and when I do, I want it to taste good. I do however have a weakness for pizza. So I was especially excited to receive this coupon offer for Z Pizza, a pizza place you can probably find around you that makes gourmet pizza using great fresh ingredients, and it DELIVERS! I was so excited... but it turned out they do not deliver to my area.

Still, we were set on trying a gluten-free pizza and hoping it would be satisfying and delicious so that I can know that if I have to go gluten-free, I won't be losing out on the beloved doughy, cheesy goodness of a pizza. I hear there are other places in the area that cook gluten-free pizza as well, but this was a good one, so I'd eat at Z-pizza again. The crust was crispy around the edges from being cooked on hot bricks, and a bit more doughy otherwise. We tried the pesto sauce, mozzerela and parmesan cheese, with carmelized onions and red peppers. DELICIOUS! I would be happy to splurg on a pizza from there any time. Especially knowing that all the incrediants are organic. Being able to order Gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, or meat lover all from the same place is great too. The place was crazy busy and difficult to pick up the pizza from, so I would give the overall experience, taste, and joy of eating healthy ingrediants that taste like they're bad for you a 4 out 5!

I often feel a bit light headed while eating pizza, and doze off afterwards or feel very lethargic with an upset stomach. This time I didn't go into a "pizza coma" until I snacked on the bread sticks (not gluten free) I think next time we order pizza from z-pizza I'm going gluten-free all the way, see how I feel after a completely gluten-free pizza meal.

Here's a coupon if you want to try Z- Pizza yourself: http://ww7.empathica.com/sxml/zpizza/eblastpilotsurvey/custsurvey.jsp?SURVEY_ENTRY=

Gluten-Free Eating in Arizona

Today I was speaking with someone about a friend who was having a difficult time finding gluten-free foods in their part of Arizona. I mentioned a few ideas which my family and I will be making use of in order to stay gluten-free while eating locally as much as possible. One part of that is to eat less processed foods, and focus more on whole, home cooked meals. There are a plethora of "Gluten-free yummies" as I have begun calling them already for sale in such places as Fresh and Easy, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and more. In my research I found plenty of locally grown or made items which are gluten-free including produce from Customer Supported Agriculture, Buying Clubs, grocery stores, health food stores, and other such options which you can find at Arizona Local Foods.

We are blessed in this part of Arizona with a temperate climate which allows for a longer growing season than many other places. Although people think of the desert as arid and empty of life, in actuality there is a large bounty which can and is grown right here. We have planted a garden with some of our own favorites, and a hybrid fruit tree which has just started to blossom as we approach spring.  Living in the Laveen area, we are especially blessed to have neighbors who raise livestock, produce their own milk products, honey, sunflower oil, organic coffee, cactus products, fruits, vegetables, and much much more!

As I continue moving towards healthier living through food, I have been keeping my eyes open for places we already enjoy that just so happen to sell gluten-free foods in our area. We are fortunate, in a sense, that we had a roommate who was gluten-intolerant and who introduced us to some places she could eat, such as RA, our favorite sushi bar in Ahwatukee, or Green in Tempe where I tend to meet up with my vegan friends. I also am really looking forward to trying Gluten-Free Creations Bakery, which was recently recommended by a friend and looks delicious.

But what if you aren't into negotiating the waters of gluten-free sushi and you don't enjoy vegetarian or vegan foods? I mean, sometimes a person just wants a good steak right? Tonight I came across a list of restaurants in Arizona which are pretty big on our standard styles of eating out and which happen to have some gluten-free foods on their menu or are willing and able to prepare gluten-free versions of their foods. The celiac handbook has an entire such list online at  http://www.celiachandbook.com/arizona.html!

So never fear my fellow Arizonans! Be you central to a larger city, or living in one of the many beautiful areas not quite so populated, there are options out there. I hope you will share with me what gluten-free delights you find as you go and I will continue to share the results of my foraging as well. If you would like to recommend a gluten-free treat, restaurant, etc. please do comment, I look forward to hearing from you!