Message to all Starbucks-loving Celiacs

A fellow Celiac Friend send me an email today about Starbucks, and I thought I better share, just in case you were unaware.

"Please be advised that all varieties of Frappuccinos are at high risk for cross-contamination. Starbucks now has labels that state the manufacturing process of their mixes. As of November 10th, 2009, All Frappuccino mixes contain Maltodextrin and state that the mix is Manufactured on Shared Equipment with wheat/gluten. (Information taken directly from the ingredients list on the back of the Starbucks Frappuccino base - creme and powder mixes).

Obviously, maltodextrin can mean a variety of things -- it's the Manufactured on Shared Equipment with wheat/gluten that concerns me the most. This is a friendly suggestion to check the ingredients in your drinks, just to be on the safe side!"

Sincerely,
Crystal Brown
Solano County Celiacs President
www.solanocountyceliacs.org

Piatti offers Gluten Free Dishes

There are restaurants with their official gluten free menus, and for that I am thankful, but with a little research you will that find that the mid to high end dining establishments are willing and able to accommodate. Why this is not notated on their menu, well that seems poor advertising on their part, but in any case my slothing found Piatti Ristorante & Bar has four options on their menu. They are a fine Italian Bistro with locations in Sacramento and Roseville, as well as others.

Per their email the Roseville location has "an employee and a regular guest that are gluten free so we take great pride in our diligence of serving 100% gluten free meals."

So what can you order? It's limited, but it all sounds good.

Pollo Allo Spiedo: Free Range Rotisserie Chicken w. Autumn Vegetables, Roasted Potatoes & Herb Butter (Full Chicken 23.95, Half Chicken 16.95)

Saltimbocca: Pork Tenderloin w. Prosciutto, Sage, Autumn Vegetables, Mashed Potatoes & Pan Juices 16.95

Salmone: Pan Roasted Loch Duart Salmon w. Leek Butternut Squash & Mushroom “Hash” w. Lemon Oil 21.95

Bistecca: Grilled Kobe Steak w. Buttermilk Onion Rings & Red Wine Fig Sugo 21.95

Oli's Products Newsletter: November 2009

Gobble Gobble

It's almost time for turkey, ham and all the fixins! And since cranberries are in season, we thought it'd be appropriate for November to be the Month of the Cranberry. That's why we'll be featuring our Cranberry Sweet 'n Spicy Sauce -- 2 for $8, while supplies last.

See us in person

Drop by Gluten Free Specialty (2612 J St, Sacramento, CA) to find our products--as well as an assortment of other gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options. For the last quarter of the year, all of our products will be on sale!

You can also come see us in person November 14th at St. Mary's Annual Fine Art and Craft Fair from 10-7pm, located on the corner of 58th & M streets in East Sacramento. We'll be next to some really unique gifts for friends and family--so if you've got an hour to spare, get out and get some fresh air. If you just can’t find the time, though, you can always place your order directly, with free local delivery.

November Specials

• 2 8-oz jars of Oli's Cranberry Sweet 'n Spicy Sauce for $8
• $13 Fall Sampler Pack:1 16-oz Pasta Sauce, 1 16-oz Mild Salsa, and 1 8-oz Original Sweet ‘n Spicy Sauce

Gift Baskets

Looking to give something a little different this year instead of re-gifting something you received last year? Can't find the perfect gift? Or are you just plain ol' lazy? We've got you covered with pre-made gift baskets (available for local pickup only). Perfect as a nice gesture for a holiday party, or if you'll be visiting someone who is gluten-free over the coming holidays.

...Planning on making your own gift baskets or looking for an easy, unique gift item?

Mix-N-Match any 6 jars for $25
Buy a case of 12 (mix-n-match, too) for just $45

Availability

• Oli's Sweet 'n Spicy Sauce: Original, Hot, Double Hot (while suppies last), and Cranberry (while supplies last)
• Oli's Thick 'n Chunky Salsa: Mild, Medium (while supplies last), and Hot
• Oli's Marvelous Mushroom Pasta Sauce

Thanks for all of your support, and be sure to check out our GF food/restaurant reviews at GFree TV!

From our kitchen to yours,

Oli, Debbie & Mike
@olisproducts
@gfreetv

French Meadow Bakery Sandwich Bread

French Meadow Bakery offers a variety of gluten free breads, including a white sandwich bread and a cinnamon raisin bread. I was given both to sample as a potential product to be carried at my local health food store, and used the cinnamon raisin bread every morning for breakfast with butter and cheese or jam. I wouldn't use it for anything else except toast but it gets 2 thumbs up for that.

Now for the sandwich bread, I have been in love with Udi's white sandwich bread since I met it. How does this bread compare? Well it starts in the freezer, which pretty much means you have to toast it, so for that it gets a mark against itself. As for texture, it is not as light and fluffy of a sandwich bread as the Udi's, which means it has less holes, which is a plus, and thus makes making a grilled cheese sandwich much easier. In fact, for making grilled cheese, I prefer the French Meadow over the Udi's.

A complaint many people have about gluten free bread in general is that the slices are so small. The French Meadow bread is a slightly larger slice of bread than the Udi's, maybe by half an inch per direction, which doesn't sound like much, but it's something. And as for price, it falls at the lower end of what most gluten free bread costs, coming in at around $5.00. So overall, I still like Udi's, as it reminds me more of a "Wonder Bread," a squishy bread you'd find on the bread aisle and it gets a 4 on a scale of 1-5, but the French Meadow is good in its own way, getting a 3.75 from me on a scale of 1-5.

Chocolate Mousse

Looking for a super elegant, super-sweet Chocolate dessert? One of the first things my husband ever made me was chocolate mousse in a wine glass, and he made me some again recently during my recovery from oral surgery. This is absolutely excellent. If needed, you could try to adapt this so it is dairy free as well by using dairy free chocolate chips and Soyatoo whip cream, but I can't vouch for that variety.

Ingredients
8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 dark chocolate candy bar

Directions
1 Double boil chocolate chips until melted. (Bring water just to a simmer; be patient. And be careful not to burn chocolate.)
2 In a separate bowl, beat up eggs until frothy with electric mixer.
3 In another bowl beat whipping cream until stiff.
4 Add eggs into the chocolate mixture gradually, beating at low speed. (Do not over beat or chocolate will tighten up.)
5 Then fold the whipping cream into the chocolate mixture.
6 Put into serving bowls and cool overnight.
7 For garnish, shave some dark chocolate onto the top, or top with extra whipping cream or fruit/berries.

My New Do

For years I had super long hair, and after having most of it pinned up for my best friends' wedding, I hit a breaking point and cut about 15" off. A short ponytail is pretty much all I have time for these days, and even my short ponytail was getting long, so I cut off another 3" off about a week ago.

In eight years of being with my husband (only married for 6 mo+) I have probably attempted to leave my hair down for an evening a handful of times, but it always was tied up by the end of the night. Last night I broke out the flat iron and left it down all night, and my husband went wild. So what do you all think?

123 Gluten Free Special Offer

I received an email offer from 1-2-3 Gluten Free and wanted to share this offer with everyone in the gluten free community.

"We believe CSA plays a valuable role in supporting those with celiac disease and we want to support your efforts. We want to make the following offer to CSA.

During the entire month of November, for any orders placed on our website where the customer puts "CSA" or "Celiac Sprue Association" in the Special Instructions section of the ordering page, we will donate 5% of sales of 1-2-3 Gluten Free premium baking mixes to CSA. Additionally, to thank your members (and help our environment), each such order will receive a 1-2-3 Gluten Free re-useable shopping bag (a $3 value), while supplies last. We will also throw in a free package of one of our mixes* for all orders over $75. This is a great way for your members to support CSA while getting some great products for themselves.

Our award-winning products make generous portions (twice other brands) which make them less expensive per serving than many other options. Additionally, they taste great, are very versatile (there are over 80 recipes for the 14 products), certified gluten free by the GFCO and are produced in a dedicated gluten and allergen-free facility in the U.S.A. (they are also tested to 5 PPM). All 1-2-3 Gluten Free products are certified kosher pareve (CRC) and are GMO free. More information about our products is available on our website and in the attached brochure.

What do we ask of CSA in return? We ask that you publicize this to your membership so they become aware of the offer.

Best,
Kim"

Kimberlee Ullner
1-2-3 Gluten Free, Inc.
125 Orange Tree Drive
Orange, Ohio 44022
kim@123glutenfree.com
www.123glutenfree.com