Gluten-Free Holiday Gift Ideas!

Tags

Allergy, Amy Green, Antonellis Cheese Shop, Artisan Cheese, Austin, Austin Texas, BlackBird Bakery, Bona Dea, Bona Dea Baking Co., Breed & Co., celiac's disease, Champagne, Cheese, Coeliac disease, Con'Olio, Confituras, Cookies, Gluten, Gluten Intolerance, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free Bakes Goods, Gluten-free diet, Gluten-Free gifts, Gluten-Free Holiday Gift Baskets, Gluten-Free Holiday Gift Ideas, Gluten-Free Pasta, Hobby Lobby, Karen Morgan, Kohana Coffee, Muffins, Oatmeal Cookies, pancakes, Scones, Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free Meals In 20 Minutes, Special Diets, The Austin Wine Merchant, Wheatsville Coop, Wine

Not sure what to get your family member, co-worker and/or friend that has Celiac’s Disease or is gluten-intolerant?  Well here is a list of great gift ideas that you can pick up locally here in Austin and/or order on-line:

My favorite new Gluten-Free Cook Books:

Blackbird Bakery Gluten-Free Cookbook -By Karen Morgan

 

 

 

 

 

Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free Meals in 20 Minutes Cookbook – By Amy Green (This book has not yet been released but can be pre-ordered via Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble

 

 

 

Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival

Tags

86This, Auditorium Shores, Austin Food Carts, Austin Texas, Austinist, Bananarchy, Barbecue, BBQ, Book People, BookPeople, Cutie Pies, Downtown Austin, Eater Austin, Food, Gypsy Picnic, Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival, Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Holy Cacao, Le Cordon Bleu, linkedin, Mobile Food Carts, SoCo, The Flying Carpet, The Mighty Cone, The Peached Tortilla, Tiffany Harelik, Torchy's Taco, Trailer Food Diaries

The Gypsy Picnic Trailer Food Festival kicked off its inaugural event here in Austin, TX and the brain child behind this fabulous event was Tiffany Harelik.  It was a celebration of the mobile food movement that is sweeping the nation and Austin!   A culmination of over 30+ food trailers descended upon Auditorium Shores in downtown Austin to serve up a “day of tasty treats, tunes & more” with cuisine ranging from Moroccan, Mexican-Korean Fusion, Japanese, German, Ice Cream, Donuts, BBQ to good old Southern style comfort food!

In addition to the 30+ trailers to tantalize your taste buds, there  was  a “Best of the Fest” cook-off competition awarding prizes in five categories: meat, vegetarian/vegan, sweets, drinks, & creativity (see winners list below), live music (Health Alliance for Austin Musicians sponsored/presented the event) & story time (presented by BookPeople) for the little ones between music sets on The Sideshow , which included jugglers, acrobats and flaming hula hoops later in the afternoon! Le Cordon Bleu had demonstrations throughout the day to help you brush up on your kitchen skills!

Arriving at the Gypsy Picnic Festival around 11:30am, I met up with another foodie friend/blogger (@FoodDrinkLove) to enjoy an afternoon of eating (*Note: I did maintain my gluten-free regiment, but the paleo/no processed sugar went to the way side a bit, but I made smart/limited choices in my selections)!  Each trailer was offering up sample size eats priced at $3.00 each, along with other options to choose from (prices varied).  The trailers were set up based on their locations in Austin (liken it to the boroughs of New York): Eastside, SoCo, Campus, Downtown, South side, & included trailers that move around the city (Rovers).  We checked our list twice & decided just how we wanted to tackle the trailers, as we had both eaten at some trailers and not at others.  So we were off on our trailer eating adventure!

HopDoddy is a dandy of a burger bar!

Tags

Angus cattle, artisan burgers, Baileys Irish Cream, burger, Burger Joint, Chuck Smith, cocktails, Continental Club, craft beer, Frangelico, Gluten-Free, Gluten-free diet, hamburger, ice cream floats, Janis Joplin, milkshakes, salads, Vegetarian, Veggie burger

I am a burger fanatic and there is no getting around that fact!  I love hamburgers, cheeseburgers, custom burgers. . .It is just one of my all time favorite things to eat (Yes I eat them bunless so they are gluten-free).  Having come to Austin via Southern California & San Francisco I have plenty-o-hamburger experience under my belt (and yes it made the belt loop expand a few times)!

The brain child(s) behind the Hopdoddy Burger Bar are Moonshine Chef and Hopdoddy partner Larry Perdido along with Moonshine’s Chuck Smith, Guy Villavaso and Larry Foles, the creators of the Roaring Fork, Eddie V’s, and Z’Tejas.  And they have most certainly ground out an exceptional concept & product!  Find yourself asking where did the restaurant name come from?   A play on word of course:  Handcrafted beer (hops reference) and the nickname given to Aberdeen Angus cows of Scotland (doddy), forming the “perfect union of burgers & beer.”

Hopdoddy is not your average burger joint.  Hopdoddy is passionate about using “the freshest, all-natural ingredients” to fashion artisan burgers.  Don’t fret my gluten-free & vegetarian friends, as there are options for you as well!  Drinks you ask?  Hopdoddy answers with an outstanding selection of craft bears on tap, wine, and a most excellent cocktail menu for “grown folks.”  With a contemporary but approachable setting (art work by Matt Lankes has been carefully selected to reference Austin’s independent spirit), one can easily relax into a delicious burger & beer at the bar or in one of the many casual dining booths.

Coffee Junkie -You bet! But here’s a cup worth slowing down for.

Tags

Austin, Austin Local Business, Austin Restaurants, Austin Small Business, Beverages, Blue Dahlia Bistro, Central Market, Coffee, Coffee bean, Coffee roasting, Coffeehouse, cold brew coffee, gift baskets, Hot Mama's Cafe, Kohana Coffee, Organic Coffee Farming, Roasting, San Francisco

I have always been fascinated by the roasting process of coffee, as there are some coffee houses that roast in-store/in-house and others that farm the process out.  Living in San Francisco prior to moving to Austin, I used to frequent a bistro located in the Marina district that had a roasting machine in the front of the store & they would roast coffee beans all day & I just loved the aroma!

Kohana Coffee is a small, woman-owned, coffee-house/roasters that performs their roasting in-house.  Victoria Lynden, Owner & Founder of Kohana Coffee understands the importance of slow roasting coffee and let me just tell you it is an art form Kohana has down!  I had the distinct pleasure of spending some time recently with the Piper Jo and Nate of Kohana Coffee to experience the roasting process.