I need my mojo back!

I am really loving my new city and happy about our move, but I have to admit, I am in a major cooking funk. This is really unlike me, but when it comes time to think about cooking the next meal, I start feeling so lethargic and blah!

I usually get so excited about what I am going to cook for the week and test out recipes from other bloggers, or from my monthly subscriptions to Food & Wine and Vegetarian Times, and I am still seeing wonderful recipes, but I just don't feel the motivation to do it.

It doesn't help that we have now been in our new place for a month, yet the kitchen is not fully unpacked...about 75%. It doesn't help that we have ants. And it doesn't help that I am going from my gorgeous new kitchen that I designed to an 80s kitchen that I am now renting. In the kitchen I recently parted with, I felt like the counter tops and floors were so clean and new I could eat off of them. Not so much here. I know it is just a kitchen, and it is only temporary in the grand scheme of things, but it sure makes me miss my old gourmet stomping grounds. And I know it wasn't a kitchen that was about to featured on the cover of Architectural Digest or Dwell, but it was perfect for me.

M tells me I have to move on, that it is only stuff, and I know he is right, so why am I finding it so hard to start creating my favorites dishes? It is true, I miss my house, but I am loving our new city and neighborhood.

I have always been very particular about using fresh fruit and veg in every meal, and going to a farmers market at least once weekly, but I have not even been to one since I have moved here. I have been making meals that are monotonous in color that would make Gillian McKeith wince and probably tell me off with a table full of what I have been eating these last 30 days. Typically I use very minimal processed foods, but I have been relying on them way too heavily.

We all know that eating gluten-free doesn't necessarily mean eating healthy and these past 30 days I seem to really be trying to challenge that fact. Once in a while, I have created the occasional pasta dish or quiche, but for the most part, I have been failing as the chef of the house. I fear I will be fired.

Everyday I keep waking up and telling myself, this will be the day. This will be the day that I get the kitchen fully functioning and make a fabulous meal like I did just weeks ago. I used to make pancakes with fresh fruit weekly...pancakes have not been made yet. The grill has not been used, and half of my plates are still in boxes.

I am hoping that writing this entry will somehow be cathartic to me, and somehow give me the motivation to get to it in the morning.

I would love to hear any wise words or inspiration to give me a jump start.

Bon soir!

Glutino chocolate and yogurt covered pretzel giveaway!

Next month is Celiac Awareness month, and as if I don't talk about gluten-free living enough, now I have even more reason to celebrate my life without the pesky grains. More and more people are being diagnosed, with even greater numbers of people walking around, unknowingly, with the disease. This is why it is so important to have tasty options out there, so making the change can seem just a little less life-altering.

Glutino was kind enough to send me samples of their newest treats, the chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels. I have always been a huge fan of their regular gluten-free pretzels and could never stop myself at one handful, so I knew that these new varieties were going to be trouble, and was I ever right! When they arrived I didn't know which one to break into first...I was just so excited to eat one of my favorite snacks from before being gluten-free. I decided to go for the yogurt-covered pretzels first, and was in love...I could barely stop myself in order to open the chocolate-covered pretzels...and of course these were just as delicious!

I shared these tasty treats with my gluten-able family and we all agreed they were both wonderful, and tasted no different, and maybe even better than their gluten-filled counterparts. I will definitely be buying these in the future.

So in celebration of Celiac Awareness month, Glutino is giving away 2 snack care packages, which include these new amazing pretzels and new cereals.

In order to enter the giveaway, please:

1. Leave a comment to this post about what is your favorite gluten-free snack to take on the go;

2. "Like" Gluten-Free Musings on Facebook;

3. Follow me on Twitter;

4. Post a tweet announcing this giveaway, with a link to this post, and including @gfreemusings.

I will randomly choose two winners on Monday, September 27th at midnight, and announce those winners on Tuesday, September 28th.

The contest is only open to US residents.

scarf o'rama

I caved, I couldn't help myself, and it was worth every delicious meaty bite!

My life in Atlanta has been hectic to say the least. To say that trying settle into a routine with Z in kindergarten and a having house full of boxes has been overwhelming is an understatement. But today I took a nice break and met with up with fellow writer, at Celiac-disease.com, Tiffany Janes at Yeah! Burger here in Atlanta.

I was a bit skeptical at first being that I have not eaten much meat in years, but knowing they had grass-fed beef and bison made it seem more attractive, because if I am going to fall off the wagon, I am going to do it with some good, grass-fed, local meat. I checked out their menu beforehand, and saw they also serve a gluten-free bun, onion rings and fries. I was ready for this heart attack in a basket!

I decided on the beef burger with cheddar on a gluten-free bun with a side of half onion rings/half fries (be sure to specify you would like the gluten-free onion rings and fries or you will get gluten-filled versions). Their menu clearly states the buns are made in a dedicated facility and the onion rings and fries are made in a dedicated fryer.

I wasn't even sure how to handle my first bite of ground goodness after so much time. This is typically the last type of meat I would ever order, but I was looking forward to my first taste. And Yeah! baby it was good!

My fried sides were also pretty incredible, but the star of the plate was definitely the burger. Coupling this fabulous lunch with great conversation made for a lovely lunch date.

Unfortunately, I don't think the week's worth of calories is going to do me any favors at the beach this weekend...or trying to get into my bridesmaid dress for my sister's wedding. Doh!

More gluten-free deliciousness from Udi's!

I have it on good authority that Udi's is going to release more gluten-free deliciousness in the near future. As many people already know, Udi's is one of the top gluten-free brands out there. Their bread is outstanding, and even the pickiest gluten-able eater would inhale a peanut butter and jelly or grilled cheese on Udi's gluten-free bread before they could refuse it. The day I discovered their bread, I never looked back and have been a faithful fan. You can take it right out of the package and eat it straight away with no heating. My daughter's daily school lunch sandwiches are made with Udi's and she can eat gluten!

Sometimes just for fun, when I have gluten-able friends over, I will just hand them a slice of bread out of the package to see their reaction, and they have all been amazed.

Not only does Udi's create fabulous gluten-free bread, but they also sell other equally amazing gluten-free products such as four different varieties of granola, blueberry muffins, lemon streusel muffins, double chocolate muffins, pizza crusts, bagels and cinnamon rolls.

And the best part, they are coming out with more! On their list, these are some of the new items we will see:

• Hamburger buns, hot dog buns, dinner rolls
• New muffins, including bran muffins
• Cinnamon raisin and whole grain bagels
• A new bread

To hear more about their new releases and Udi's as a company, check out this video by Gluten Free Angel, with Udi's founder, Etai Bar-on and marketing director, Heather Collins.

They have not announced a launch date, but I have a feeling it will be worth the wait!

Farmers market finds

One of my favorite weekly activities during the summer is going to the farmers market. Freshly picked local produce just tastes so much better than anything that could be found at the big grocery stores. And let's not forget local eggs and cheese. Buying a tomato at the store during the summer is just wrong. I am even starting to see more and more gluten-free baked goods being offered.

Usually I would be tending my own vegetable garden, with tomatoes started from seed, cared for since March, along with several other vegetables and herbs. But with the move this summer, I decided to let it go this year and it almost brings me to tears to see my veggie garden full of overgrown weeds. Gardening became my passion once we bought a house and had more space than we knew what to do with, but now....I guess we could all agree that gluten-free is my thing.

Tonight, armed with my farmers market (& gluten-free) finds I made a roasted beet salad with golden and red beets (above), and a caprese salad (below).

For the beets, I used golden and red beets. I cleaned and trimmed the beets, wrapped them in foil and cooked them for an hour at 375'. When they finished, I unwrapped them carefully and rubbed off the skins, chopped them in 1-inch chunks and let them chill in a bowl, in the fridge, for 30 minutes. I then tossed with olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and freshly ground salt and pepper. Easy and delicious. Z finished her plate, which coming from her is quite compliment. Or maybe she was just eager to see how the beets would effect her pee.

For the caprese, it is extremely simple....I chopped up various tomatoes (the black cherry ones were my favorite), tossed them with some olive oil, a splash of white balsamic, freshly ground salt and pepper and tossed with fresh mozzarella and fresh cut basil.

I love a fresh, local summer salad. Hopefully by moving to the South I can enjoy it for more of the year.

What is your favorite thing to make with your farmers market finds?