Happy Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Wishing you a very happy gluten free Thanksgiving, full of gluten free apple pie. Or just plain pink lady apples, ripe and delicious, tasting of spun gold and candy.

Gluten Free Signs of the Season

I guess with Thanksgiving tomorrow, we can admit that the long days of summer and the ripe red tomatoes are long behind us. The past month or two have turned my kitchen into a slow, soup making, meat braising, butter and cream sauce mixing venue. The harvest has come and gone, with hopes that this year's wine will be the best yet and that the rains will come and provide the water needed for next year's crops. In this time of year, squash is king. I have two large butternut squashes lined up next to an acorn squash, prepped and ready for curried squash soup with a dollop of creme freiche to be served tomorrow as an appetizer. I love squash for its simplicity-cut it in half, remove the seeds, roast it with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper, and you have a meal in itself.

One gourd signifies the abundance of this season, the inward reflection and slowing down that comes with the winter. Puree that roasted squash, add stock, curry, and a few extra spices and you've got a warm belly full of gratitude. Gratitude for family, for simple, honest food that sustains us, and for the passing of another year. With Thanksgiving, we kick off the holiday season, full of celebrations and the anticipation of another year. In this case, we welcome another decade with the wisdom that the past years have imparted. A recession of unparalleled proportions has instilled a sense that we must do more with less, love fuller, cook slower and closer to the earth. We follow the seasons, celebrating the passing of time with a token vegetable to represent the current moment. Now, it's squash.

A Gluten Free Mushroom Craze

Lately, there's been a slight mushroom obsession in our house. I attribute this mushroom craze to Georgeanne Brennan's Pig in Provence, in which she chronicles mushroom foraging in the hills of rural France. Sigh. We may never forage in France, but we certainly procure plenty of mushrooms in San Francisco at Far West Fungi. This prize beauty, above, narrowly escaped its certain demise, but only because it was so expensive and far too lovely to be chopped up into a risotto. However, these black trumpet mushrooms made a nice pairing with broccoli rabe and leeks in a delicious risotto, served under a smoked chili salt rubbed pork tenderloin.

Dark, rich and fungiliy flavorful, these mushrooms would be great in a cream sauce or sauteed with a bit of butter and served on top of wild rice. What's your favorite type of mushroom?

Gluten Free Baked Goods in San Francisco

Saturday was a bright, beautiful day in San Francisco. Vendors lined up at the Ferry building, their stalls lined with squashes, greens, and the first Dungeness crabs of the season. And Mariposa bakery opened their San Francisco location, inside the spectacular Ferry building plaza, right across from Sur La Table.

The space is light and fresh, with a small table featuring sweets like chocolate chip cookies and the to-die-for brownies. A large wire rack holds breads, bagels, and spiced loaves of pumpkin bread and coffee cakes. The freezer wasn't working yet, but they expect to have it up and running this week. There, the legendary frozen goods like pizza crusts and rosemary rolls will make their SF debut. I ran into the owner, Patti, outside at the farmer's market, purchasing some rainbow chard and she is ecstatic about their SF location. Almost as ecstatic as me! Look at those smiling faces, manning the SF gluten free shop.

I practiced some gluten free restraint and only purchased perfect foccacia bread, a triple truffle brownie, and a 4 pack of cinnamon rolls. I'll be back later this week to pick up my rosemary rolls for Thanksgiving dinner and the long awaited leftover turkey sandwich on Friday afternoon. Though the SF location is so, so sweet, I have to admit I'll still make the occasional trek to Oakland, just to take in the rich smells of freshly baking bread. Nothing can replace that gluten free experience.

Primavera Tamales: a Gluten Free Thanksgiving prep

Today, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, kitchens all over the US are bustling, roasting pumpkins for puree, readying the brine for the turkey, and pulling grandmothers' recipes for dressing or stuffing (depending on what part of the country you're in). But in our house, I'm thinking about tamales.

The Thanksgiving story that I learned in grade school was all about corn. The Native Americans brought corn to the Pilgrims and they feasted together, for the first time. There are plenty of Thanksgiving traditions that make their way to our table on Thanksgiving day (first and foremost, pretzel salad, which mysteriously contains zero vegetables, unless you count jello), but corn isn't one of them. It's out of season, for one thing. For another, vegetables aren't the all time favorites, when paired with sausage cornbread stuffing and a local, sustainably raised, smoked Willie Bird. Last year, I made a few butternut squashes, stuffed with kale and topped with a tahini, but I have to admit, though they were delicious, no one really went back for seconds, instead saving room for the mashed potatoes.

So, to celebrate the original food that brought two cultures together and continues to be one of the cornerstones of American agriculture (for better or worse), I'm eating tamales. Yesterday for lunch, from the Primavera tamale stand at the farmer's market, tomorrow for lunch, and maybe as a pre-Thanksgiving warm up. Got to get those vegetables in somehow and slipping some slow roasted pork in between delicate masa makes vegetables go down real easy.

Gluten Free News- Mariposa Gluten Free Bakery Opens San Francisco Location!

It's amazing to me how one email can change your whole outlook, your mood, your world view. I was in that post-lunch lull at my desk yesterday when the news that had been buzzing all week was confirmed- Mariposa Bakery is expanding. To San Francisco. And not in some obscure location, either. They're moving on up right across from Sur La Table in the Ferry Building. Huzzah!

I would walk the stretches of this vast earth to acquire their goods, but I no longer have to. (Or trek to Oakland). They hope to open this Friday, November 20th, provided all goes well. A small business that's thriving, and a gluten free one, no less. Now, that's something to be grateful for.

Oh, and yesterday there was also buzz about Domino's pizza offering gluten free pizzas in Australia. Wonder how much delivery would be?

When Your CSA Box Gives You Mustard Greens...

braise them in bacon, brown sugar and a bit of honey. Fry up some jerk-seasoned catfish and make saffron rice. Dinner will taste like the South.