December 2010

Gluten Free Top Ten of 2010

December 30, 2010
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2010, what an eventful year it has been. We moved halfway across the world, met fabulous new people, saw beautiful sights, cooked a lot of gluten free food, and of course photographed it all for you :) We’ve had happy times and sad times, good news and bad news, and at the end of the day are still here, together, hopefully a little wiser, and able to be in close contact with our family and friends an ocean away. I hope you all have had a good year, and here is to hoping the best for 2011!

To end 2010, I am sharing my top ten list. This order isn’t based on any statistics, number of comments, any measurable metric. It’s a completely subjective list of the posts that meant the most to me that I think you will enjoy. So without further ado, je vous présente the list!

29 comments

Our Gluten Free Christmas Dinner – Maple-Brined Pork Roast

December 28, 2010
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Joyeux Noël à tous!  Ok, I’m a little late, but I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and/or a very happy Holiday season.  I am sharing the grand finale of our three course Christmas dinner – the main plate – a maple-brined pork roast.  My husband had been asking for me to cook him a [...]

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Roasted Tomato Soup and/or Sauce from Scratch

December 23, 2010
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After our first course of Christmas dinner, the picture above was exactly what I had in mind. Fresh, thick, bright red roasted tomato soup, with strong hints of garlic, garnished with basil and parmesan. The kind that warms the soul when the rain is batting against the windows, and each step outside is a slop! slop! in the slushy puddles splattering all over your new jeans – it’s easy to catch a chill then, and a warm soup was just the cure to take away some of the grumpies of the long Wintery week.

In a desperate attempt to call back the gods of Summer to return upon us with sunshine and warm temperatures, I enthusiastically purchased just about every bio (organic) fresh vegetable I could find in the store that weekend. I found myself with a couple dozen tomatoes and thought, even if it isn’t Summer outside, maybe we can direct a few of those last rays of sunshine hidden from us by the ever threatening clouds, and have them warm our stomachs if nothing else by preparing a fresh soup. Sorry Winter Solstice, as cool as you were with an eclipse and all, I still miss my sunshine.

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Pan-Roasted Almonds with Thyme and Truffle Oil

December 20, 2010
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We celebrated Christmas a week early. Now that we have gotten in the holiday spirit thanks to our fun trip strolling through the Marché de Noël, it seems my husband and I are all about Christmas this year. I love the idea of embracing new traditions for ourselves, and so this weekend to accommodate our schedules a bit better, we had our full on Christmas feast. A veritable 3 course dinner just for the two of us – because what better Christmas present could I give my husband than a great meal made with love, and the two of us just enjoying each other’s company on these unseasonably cold and blustery Winter days?

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Le Marché de Noël – A day at the Christmas Market en Suisse

December 17, 2010
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I didn’t decorate our home for Christmas this year. No wreaths, no tree, not even Christmas lights. Nothing. I just haven’t really felt in the mood. Truth be told, it’s been rather hard for me or my husband to get “in the holiday spirit” lately.

Next week will be the first Christmas my husband and I have spent together without getting to see any family. It’s not how we originally planned it, but it is what it is. I’ve spent holidays thousands of miles apart from my family before, while I was in grad school off doing field work for my research – but those times I knew when I’d be back home, and the situation was very temporary. We’ve really become rather accustomed to our lives here over the past year, but by far the suckiest part is not having our family around. And just because I’ve spent Christmas away from family before doesn’t mean it gets any easier the next time (or the time after that).

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Daring Cook’s #20: Poached to Perfection

December 14, 2010
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Jill (jillouci) and I are so excited to host Daring Cooks for the month of December! For this month, we decided to focus on a technique that seems intimidating to many, but with a little practice it’s really not that hard at all – poaching. All poaching means is cooking something in simmering (not boiling) liquid. And what more perfect way to practice the skill of poaching than learning how to poach an egg? They can make a tasty breakfast or salad accompaniment; there are so many different ways to use poached eggs, and they are used in cuisines from a variety of cultures.

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