gluten free

I have long prided myself in having no dietary restrictions. After spending half of my life limiting what I could eat and eliminating all pleasure that eating could bring, removing all restrictions was the most therapeutic way for me to approach my relationship with food. When my friends and colleagues identified as vegan, Paleo, raw foodists, and gluten-free, I gladly enjoyed all foods. Honestly, for a while, cooking for and going out to eat with people with food restrictions kind of irritated me.  

Oh how humbling life lessons can be!

The last time I entered a cooking contest was twenty-seven years ago.

This is part-three in a three-part series about fermentation. Part-one contains information related to the nutritional value of fermented foods. It also touches upon the role that fermentation might play in personal, societal, and ecological renewal. It concludes with recipes for fermented vegetables. Part-two deals with dairy products and their non-dairy counterparts. This section is devoted to fermented grain products.

"Wow, that pink blob is moving. You are not going to eat it, are you?" I glanced at the dosa batter which was bright pink because it contained red lentils. It was creeping dangerously close to the top of the container. "Oh yes," I replied. 

For a fortunate few, eating gluten-free is simply a choice. For others it's a difficult lifestyle change once they've been diagnosed with a gluten intolerance, which can ranging from a mild sensitivity to full-blown celiac disease.

Madwoman Foods, an independently owned bakery in Southwest Minneapolis, serves up loads of gluten-free baked goods (including lots of treats). My father-in-law has been a celiac for nearly 15 years, and my mother-in-law makes loads of tasty gluten-free treats, and even THEY think that Madwoman makes many of the best gluten free flatbreads, cupcakes, pizzas, and tea cakes in town. Here's what the Madwoman site says about the place:

The French Meadow Cafe has long been one of Minneapolis' best stops for locally grown, organic food. Here's their "mission statement", from their website:

French Meadow Bakery & Café believes that meals prepared with the highest quality fresh, local & organic ingredients are the building blocks for a healthy & happy life.

An amazing bakery with a host of grocery store products to boot, the restaurant makes some of the best breakfasts in town. The pancakes (blueberry corn or strawberry almond) are a sure-fire hit, even with my kids, and my wife was especially liking the oatmeal last time we ate there, with apples, dried, fruit, and nuts.

From Rick Nelson's review of Cafe Agri in today's Star Tribune: