Maybe life is "Fair"

Having trouble finding something gluten-free to eat at the fair? There's no need to have ice cream for a meal, yet again. This year I found something yummy that actually satisfies and is a balanced meal.

Kathryn Rem, food writer for the State Journal-Register, posted a review of a pulled pork sandwich offered at the Cuban hut in the Ethnic Village. It was pictured with a side of beans, rice and corn. This looked promising, so I went to the hut and explained my situation. They threw all it together, minus the bread. Delicious! The pork was tender and spiced just right with some chipotle may drizzled on top. If you're worried about the spices, you may want to investigate further, but I had no problem with the whole meal.

I have found most of the vendors at the Illinois State Fair to be very understanding and accommodating when they can. Obviously, there are some stands to steer clear of, but never fear, there's always chocolate covered bacon....if your desperate.

Easy Lemon Cookies (Gluten Free of course)

Do you ever get a craving for something? This week I've had a craving for lemon cookies....and Food Fantasies doesn't carry my favorite kind anymore. So I did what I always do, searched the internet for a recipe. I couldn't find anything super easy that was gluten free so I took a "regular" recipe and modified it. I found a recipe on the Betty Crocker site. Here is what I came up with...

1 box Betty Crocker gluten free yellow cake mix
1/3 cup shortening
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
1 Tbsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Beat all the ingredients in a bowl for about 2 minutes.
Scoop tablespoon fulls onto cookie sheets. Flatten slightly.
Bake about 10 minutes or until light brown around the edges. Let cool on the cookie sheet for at least 2 minutes before moving to a cooling rack.

These are great as is, but I made a glaze to put on them to kick up the lemon flavor just a little.

2/3 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon rind

Whisk all ingredients together until well combined. Brush on cookies after they have cooled.

Citizens UNITE!

I recently took a trip to Madison WI. As every good gluten free traveller does, I hopped on Google and searched "gluten-free restaurants + Madison, WI". What came up was truly inspiring.
There is an organization called MAGIC, the Madison Area Gluten Intolerance Chapter. These very nice (and apparently very organized) folks have compiled a list of all restaurants in the area that can accommodate gluten-intolerant diners. Each entry has a blurb about what is offered and the best approach is to ordering. As I scrolled down, I was expecting to see only a few entries....but I kept scrolling and scrolling. This list is pretty long and also includes restaurants outside of Madison, in surrounding towns. I was so excited that I almost extended my trip so I could try all of these places out.
It got me thinking....wouldn't it be great to have SPAGIC? Okay, so the name needs a little work, but the idea is wonderful. If we can have access to lists of restaurants that use local products as the Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign has so effectively done, why can't we also have some direction to those that are allergy-friendly? I know it can happen. It's widely accepted that the Madison area is a bit more progressive than central IL, but I don't see why we can't catch up. My dream is to no longer get confused looks when I ask about gluten-free items. Who's with me?