my first successful gf dish

So the first day I decided to go gluten free (gf), I bought some pasta and made a pasta toss with arugula, prosciutto, and mozzarella. Sounds delicious, right? Well it was, but the second day when I dove into the leftovers, the pasta started to break apart. So note to self, do not buy:

So, what turned my culinary faux pas around? A fantastic box of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah, thanks mom for so graciously correcting my "quin-now" pronounciation!) from Trader Joes.

And with this, I made chicken quinoa stir fry and it was delicious! How do I know, you ask? Because, El Jefe not only ate it for dinner the other night, he had leftovers yesterday. He is a human garbage disposal glutenosauras, there were several options in the fridge, and he chose a plate of....

Have I mentioned that I love him for tolerating this drastic change in culinary genres! Seriously, my photography is not my strong suit, but if you could smell the wonderful aromas emanating from this dish, your mouth would be watering too! I just had some for lunch today and it is so much better than it was the other night!

If you, too, would like to try this at home-which I highly recommend because it is VERY good for you-then grab...

-1lb of chicken (cut into one inch or so pieces)
-half an onion (chopped)
-red and yellow pepper (chopped)
-3-4 cloves of garlic minced(or more if you REALLY like garlic)
-1 cup of quinoa (rinsed and cooked for 10-15 minutes until liquid absorbs---I cooked it in 2 cups of gf chicken broth with a clove of garlic (minced), a sprinkle of dried basil, a touch of basil infused olive olive, salt & pepper) What can I say, I read that quinoa had a tendency to be bland, so I made a point to alleviate that!

I used the recipe on the back of the box as a base and manipulated it to my liking from there. I changed the cooking method for the quinoa as mentioned above. I used minced garlic instead of chopped because I like garlic but not chewing on it in a dish. I added one minced clove to the chicken and salt & pepper when it was cooking, after it was cooked through and somewhat golden brown, I added the onions and peppers, as well as two more cloves of garlic. When the onions/peppers were warm and still had a bit of crunch (I don't like "limp" veggies), I added the cooked quinoa and let the flavors meld for about five to ten minutes. It was truly lovely and sooo easy to prepare! If I had not gone gf, I would have absolutely no idea that this wonderful option existed!

A true testimony to the gf lifestyle: I haven't had to sprint to the bathroom, courtesy flush, use excessive air freshener, or down Immodium like vitamins while doubled over with excruciating, all-consuming stomach cramps IN SEVEN DAYS. That might as well go down in the Guinness Book of World Records for Amware!

Huh, I wonder, if Julia Child were around today how she would feel about gf cooking? Surely-as a culinary genius-she would hate that something so wonderful as food could make someone who loves to cook and bake (me) so sick. Maybe she would have published a cookbook? Or perhaps, she would "gafaw" using anything but all purpose flour in rues and cakes and all that french cooking?!?

I would say (and I think El Jefe would agree) that I have a pretty picky yet sophisticated palate, the idea of gluten free anything depressed me the first few days. My hope here is not a Julie & Julia where I work my way through a Julia Child cookbook one recipe at a time because realistically I can't do that--my stomach would HATE me. However, what I can do is find great dishes, brands, and mixes (this could be a hard one due to my SEVERE aversion to them, I am a "from scratch kind of girl") that make gluten free living less daunting and full of exquisite culinary masterpieces.

Disclaimer: I have a tendency for verbal diarrhea (yes, pun intended and I can say this word happily in the verbiage reference as it is devoid in my physical presence---FINALLY) so some posts might be LONG WINDED but should be somewhat entertaining for those willing to read on. See both a poo joke and a lengthy diatribe =)