GF Food Allergy Fest Ticket Giveaway!

I can't believe how stealthily time is creeping toward the Gluten Free Fest in San Diego. With only 3 1/2 weeks leftI think it's about time I book a hotel room and GIVE AWAY SOME TICKETS! Don't you? So here's the deal.

I have 2 full weekend tickets to Living Without Magazine's Gluten-Free Food Allergy Fest.
To enter, all you have to do is comment here or on my Facebook page. I will draw 2 winners at random on Sunday, April 13th, and announce the winners here and on FB. Winners will have one week to message me with their full names if it's not in their comment, and winners' tickets will be waiting for them at will call at the event.

Also check out:
My FB Page
Fest's FB Page
There's a list of speakers and classes on their FB page that you might want to check out.
Comment to win, cause I want to see you there!!!

I Want to Eat the Easter Bunny

Spring is in the air.
Well, at least it is here in Vegas. My poor husband is working in Minot and currently getting snowed on. Sorry babe! But down here it's different. I am warming up, watching the flowers bloom and nibbling away at beloved holiday figures. Can you blame me? I mean, who doesn't want to eat the easter bunny, or at least some sweet, edible effigy of the mythical creature? Right now the stores are full of bunnies made from chocolate, marshmallow, mint cream, gummies, you name it. Walking through target requires carrying a napkin to catch the oh-yum-I-wish-I-could-eat-that drool. Low carb living somehow starts to loose its appeal around major holidays.
So, to indulge? Or to diet? As usual, instead I choose to-the-kitchen!
This is one of my simple answers to sweets cravings - so simple you can hardly call it a recipe. But make it anyway. It's yummy. It's a little bit filling. And it won't give you a sugar crash, or destroy any dietary good intentions.

Coconut Cream Gelatin Bunnies
Yields about 36 small bunnies or similar shapes

Set the kettle on to boil some water
In a large bowl, pour out
1 Can (12oz/354mL) Stevia Sweetened Soda (I recommend Blue Sky Zero Ginger Ale, or any flavor that sounds good with a hint of coconut)
Sprinkle over the top of the soda
2 Tb Powdered Gelatin
Once your water is boiling, add to the soda
1/2 C (120mL) Boiling Water
Stir well and constantly until all of the gelatin is dissolved, then add
3/4 C (180mL) Coconut Cream
Again, stir until well combined
Pour into shaped molds or a large baking dish and chill for 3 hours or more to set
Once set, remove gently from molds, using a thin, butter knife to help if needed, or slice into servings if molds were not used
Store chilled in an airtight container

This recipe contains about 1g effective carbohydrate per 4 bunnies and should be safe for most diabetics and low carb dieters, but please know your own body and make your own judgement call.

Bunny nibbled. Mission accomplished.

Salsa on the Brain

Sometimes I just get stuck.

An idea will capture me, and my mind will churn and bubble and plan, and I simply will not be able to extract myself from it. I will experiment and create and obsess, but the one thing I can't seem to do is change the subject. Today I am jailed by visions of salsa, and quite frankly, I like it.

I love salsa, but I only started making my own in the last year, recently enough that I only had my own recipes for Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, a favorite of mine, and a flavorful, thick, fiery Habanero Hot Sauce, which I can't seem to live without. I took some of my tomatillo salsa to a get together this week and fell into salsa conversation with a friend over it. He talked about the recipes he'd tried and their plusses and minuses, and the brain started it's bubbling. I began thinking over the many flavors I've loved or loathed over the years, and I knew I had to have more. Two little recipes, however great, cannot quench the salsa lust.

So what am I doing now? I'm making salsa of course! What? I should be making dinner for my kids? But, salsa! It's past my bedtime? There's still this salsa, you see... It's 3 am? SALSA! The only down side is that I've no idea how I'm ever going to eat it all. But I'm going to love trying.

Happiness is turning this

into this.

So, like it or not, we can all look forward to a little more spice in our lives, or at least in my next book.

GF Fest in San Diego! Hells yeah!

Living Without Magazine is putting on a party and you're all invited! The Gluten-Free Food Allergy Fest will be held the first weekend of May, 2014 in San Diego, and your favorite, crazy cookbook author (that's me, right?) will be there to celebrate all the GF-ness along with you.

There will be tons of vendors, more authors, huge brands and small local companies, many giving samples, selling GF awesomeness and just plain enjoying being there with you.

Save the date! That's Saturday and Sunday, May 3rd & 4th in San Diego. See you there!

For more event info, click here.

On My Way… Almost

It's absolutely amazing the things that suddenly seem like such great things to do when you have a task in front of you that is somehow comparably worse. Procrastination station, that's where I'm at, and I don't see this train leaving anytime soon. You see how bad it is; I've even decided to blog (relevant previous blog about blogging).

Today is the day I should be packing the car, double checking my supplies, and headed off to Phoenix towards family, cheap produce and the sure to be groovy Gluten & Allergen Free Expo I'll be attending (If you're in the area, be there or be square. Of course I'll be there, and I'm a little square… eh, just come). So what am I doing? That's right, I'm sitting here typing! So very productive...

I really am excited about this whole thing, but somehow my body is mis-wired and excitement always seems to read as crazy freaking stressed. Truly. I'm so excited, I've developed an eye twitch. Truth be told, I'm also pouting about it a little. This baker lady here has just recently decided how important it is to cut carbs for a while to give my poor body a break from the excessive baking and tasting. I think it was a good decision. It feels good. But I also feel like I just barely got started and Oh! The sampling to be done this weekend! I'm clearly ambivalent. I want to try everything! But I still want to feel good too. What to do? What I always do of course! Pretend there is no decision to be made until I am out of time and am forced to play eeny meeny miney mo. If anyone out there has ever wondered what my life was founded upon, there you go. Indecision and children's rhymes for the win.

And now… I may actually have to pack. See you in Phoenix!

Finally, a post, and a GIVEAWAY! Yay!

Well, I've been lazy so far this month! I can't believe this is my first post since January. But I swear there is a good reason, and it's not just that I got my brain wedged in another manga series (honest!). I've actually been really busy getting everything ready for my first big expo! Yes, I know I posted about this last time, but it's still awesome!

Which brings me to my news for today... I have 5 free tickets to said expo to give away. Yay! But you have to go visit me on Facebook to get in on the deal. If you're near the Phoenix area and even remotely free Saturday or Sunday the 22nd & 23rd, then go enter to win! Go on, get over there, shoo! And come see me at the author table!

Enter at www.facebook.com/TheHolyGrailofGlutenFree  May the GF force be with you!

Phoenix GFAF Expo

Details at gfafexpo.com

The Holy Grail is on it's way to it's first expo!

All you Phoenix Area GF'ers, mark your calendars, and come see us. There should be lots of GF sampling to do, classes, great companies for you to discover, and awesome, new things to purchase (like my book, available at the author table)! I'm really excited just to be in a place where everything is safe for me. That will be magical all by itself. In my head, I'm having a total Willy Wonka candy room moment, only without falling in the chocolate. Seriously, there is wow factor in the whole entirely GF setting. I'm so excited!

I'm still working out the details of our trip to PHX, but should have everything ready within the week. I'll pass any scrumptious new details as soon as I get them! Look forward to it. I'll see you there!