I bought a bag of ripe avocados at the grocery store, so I needed to use them relatively quickly.  I put half on a sandwich for lunch and then I wanted to use some for dinner.  So, I cooked a pasta and let it cook while I improvised with the ingredients we had in the pantry. I topped the pasta with some parmesan cheese!

Avocado Pasta

1 ripe avocado

juice of half a lemon

zest of half a lemon

olive oil

salt pepper

1/3 cup of flat leaf parsley

Combine all of the ingredients until you get the consistency that you want.  This is also great on crackers or tortilla chips. 

GFCG

Over the weekend we made burgers, so I just asked for mine without the bun.  Sometimes you just need a burger, right?  I mean I get this feeling about twice a year.  My uncle put cheese on top and then my aunt caramelized some onions.  Another thing about me:  I do not usually eat tons of red meat, so this was a special dinner. I also put bread and butter pickles, a slice of tomato and a piece of lettuce on top.  It was just what I needed, but I have to eat it with a fork and knife!

My aunt also made a salad with green beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, Italian parsley, red onion, sweet peppers, and a vinaigrette of lemon, olive oil, and rice wine vinegar.  It was so summery and light.  I loved the crunch of the green beans and mix of flavors.   

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Every year we go to our lake house for Memorial weekend.  There were 15 of us at the lake between the two houses, which means tons of food and tons of family.  We missed my Aunt Nancy was with us in spirit and my grandmother was in the hospital, but we still managed to have a good time together.  We even cooked without help from my grandmother…not saying that it was easy.

On Memorial Day my dad woke up and made breakfast for the house.  His specialty is waffles, but he even made sausage.  Since I do not like to use the waffle iron because there is impossible to clean completely, I use the griddle to make pancakes.  I used the Bisquik pancake mix and the results were great.  It made light and fluffy pancakes.

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I bought a Glutino cornbread mix a couple of months ago. It just sat in my cabinet at school because I never wanted to buy eggs.  First thing you should know about me…I don’t really eat eggs.  I only like them in an omelette and I need to want to eat it.  When I had a permanent retainer in elementary school I could not eat anything because my mouth hurt.  My grandmother and mother made my scrambled eggs for every meal for a while, so after that I could not stomach them. 

Anyways, my mother always has a stash of eggs, so I finally made my gluten-free cornbread.  The muffins were great because they were slightly sweet and have the corn meal texture, but are not too cakey.  I packed a little bad of them for two of my gluten-free friends, so I cannot wait to hear what they think!

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After living in a kitchen with 11 other cooks, you start to pick up on different foods that people eat.  Everyone in the house is very friendly about letting others try their dishes and the girls are very proud to let me try their gluten-free creations.  I have tasted new ingredients and new flavor combinations.  My newest favorites are avocados and goat cheese.  The cheese is courtesy of our resident fromagère who lives in the house.  She brings home samples of tons of cheese that they have left over at the Cheese Shop in Williamsburg, VA. 

I started using goat cheese in sauces, on sandwiches, and with vegetables.  It gives all of these dishes a little bit of tang and makes them have a little more flavor.  I can really put an avocado on anything!  They are so fruity and wonderful.  I love them with just olive oil and salt.  My next task is to make my parents like these ingredients that we do not typically eat!

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A friend of mine sent me this…haha

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I know that animal crackers are not gluten-free, but last night a friend gave me a box because they are Lilly Pulitzer crackers. It is tradition for the old Choir presidents to give gifts to the outgoing officers.  Since I was co-Social Chair we had to deal with crazy people, so she gave us a box of animal crackers to symbolize the people in Choir.  Everyone loved the gift including me!

*Please tell me if you know of any animal crackers that are gluten-free.  I know that they make animal cookies, but I want crackers!

GFCG

Every year we have a big celebration for the last day of classes.  We have the same event in the fall, but it is not quite the same celebration.  It is know for all day partying as well as senior traditions.  Once you have taken your last classes, you are allowed to ring the bell on the Wren Building - the oldest academic building in continuous use in the United States.  There is also a school sponsored picnic and general merriment occurs throughout the day. 

After all of the festivities during the day, a Christian organization on campus hosts a pancake house in one of the dining halls.  I usually just go with my friends and listen to all of the bands and a cappella groups perform, but this year they offered gluten-free pancakes from the gluten-free station in the cafeteria.  They kept all of the food separate and there was no contamination.  It was so kind of them to offer these gluten-free pancakes filled with chocolate chips!!!  They tasted great, too!!

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Over Easter weekend I went home for a big Saturday night dinner with my family.  I made these macaroons because I craved them and I have never made them at home.  I modified a recipe that I found on Elana’s Pantry and added my own twist. 

Coconut Macaroons

2 egg whites

1/4 cup of honey

1/4 tsp pf salt

1 bag of shredded coconut (unsweetened)

Whisk the egg whites with the honey and then add the salt and coconut.  After mixing, put the bowl in the refigerator for 30 minutes.  Then use an ice cream scoop and place the mounds on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.  Heat the oven to 350 and cook for 10-12 minutes.  Bake until they are light brown on top.  After the macaroons cooled, I heated chocolate with milk and a little butter and drizzled it on top!  What a treat!

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While we were on Choir Tour, we went to Hershey World and had too much time on our hands.  So what to do…well eat Hershey’s Ice Cream!

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