Chocolate cake!

There is nothing better than chocolate cake, except maybe a chocolate cupcake. Thanks to Pamela's Luscious Chocolate Cake Mix, you can enjoy one of the best chocolate cupcakes you've ever eaten, GF or not. My husband, who is usually somewhat critical of my gluten-free creations (he is far better at the baking/cooking thing than I am), called a cupcake made from this mix "even better than regular cupcakes." I've seen this mix at both the Kroger on NC-54 in Durham and the Whole Foods on Wade Avenue. I have also tried Pamela's Classic Vanilla Cake Mix, and it is also delicious (but not quite as amazing as the chocolate).

These mixes are so good that you don't need frosting, which is a good thing, because it is difficult to find pre-made GF frosting. Even though some of the regular frosting brands don't list "wheat," they do contain modified food starch, and I have had bad reactions to both a Duncan Hines and a Pillsbury frosting that didn't list any gluten ingredients. Pamela's also has frosting mixes, so it is best to use one of those or make your own homemade frosting.

The Weathervane

The Weathervane gets two thumbs up!

The Weathervane, the restaurant attached to A Southern Season in Chapel Hill, is one of the few restaurants I've run across around here that cater to the GF crowd. I've eaten there several times; sometimes, they even have a vegan/gluten-free menu printed up. This weekend, they didn't have a separate print-out, but our server was well-educated about GF diets and went through the menu with me and pointed out which dishes were safe. The other wonderful thing about the Weathervane is that usually 8 out of 10 of their dinner entrees are GF. They make a great brunch as well, and there are always plenty of GF options.

As icing on the cake, The Weathervane uses local and organic ingredients when possible.

New labels at Kroger

The Kroger on NC-54 just re-did their natural food section, and they now have bright red and yellow tagging on the price strip of most GF products. They have also expanded their GF selection and now have additional risottos, Amy's natural GF dinners (enchiladas, pizza, even lasagna!), and cookies. My personal favorites are Pamela's Chocolate Chip Mini Cookies and the Amy's Rice Crust pizza.

Macaroni and cheese

Since going GF, there are three foods that I have missed tremendously: pizza, bread, and Kraft macaroni and cheese. I'm still working on the first two, but I discovered yesterday that the Kroger on NC-54 is now carrying Annie's GF Macaroni and Cheese! It's not quite the same; it doesn't have that traditional neon-orange color and the sauce is a little but runny, but it's close enough. Of course, it's about $3 a box (that's $2 more than the traditional wheat version), but that's no suprise.

Also, a note on Kraft. I read on their website that if any Kraft product includes an ingredient with wheat, barley, rye or oats, it will actually say "wheat," "barley," "rye," or "oats" in the ingredients, even if in parentheses. This makes label reading so much easier on these products, since you don't have to guess what might be in various unpronounceable ingredients.

Inspired by pizza

Over the holidays this year, while up in Saratoga Springs, NY visiting my in-laws, I actually got to go out for pizza. This truly wonderful experience wouldn't have been possible if not for the Times-Union Gluten Free Blog, which introduced us to Nunzio's, the pizza place in Saratoga that makes GF pizza. I looked for but could not find anything like the Times-Union blog for the Triangle or NC in general.

I'm starting this blog so I have a place where I can both record findings for myself and share my adventures in GF living with others in NC who are in search of good GF food. Maybe I'll be the only one who reads this or uses it, but that's OK with me.