The Yearly Hunt

Being GF, as you all know, means school lunches are WAY off-limits. This means that I am bringing a lunch from home, every day, 180 days a year. Thank goodness for my mother who packs them for me so I can sleep a little later.

Packing lunch means bringing a lunch box, and this is where it gets tricky for me. As a high-schooler, I know that right from the get -go most I am not going to like most lunchboxes. (Dora and Thomas the Tank Engine and Tinkerbell and Unicorns just aren't quite my style). But beyond looks, the box has to meet certain criteria I have set. I prefer them to be soft-sided, so they fit in my already-stuffed book bag better, and they should be taller than they are wide. This helps keep the food intact, as it fits more easily with my books and binders. Obviously, they need to be able to keep food cold, and a washable, or, at least, wipe-able liner is key to cleaning those minor spills.

I have found that my fairly specific needs, as well as the fact that I am admittedly picky when it comes to looks, make it incredibly difficult to find a lunch box I love. I end up hunting online for days, and often settling for one that I just don't really like. This stinks.

Last year, I found what I thought was the ultimate lunchbox. The right size, shape, style, softness. It was actually a "small cooler bag", but I loved it. This one:

Unfortunately, at around halfway through the year I the lining (which is like aluminum foil, but a fabric), began to fall out. It ripped and tore and just wasn't keeping my food cold. Had the bag inexpensive, we may have just gotten another one. But it was over 40 dollars with shipping. That type of money should get me a lunchbox to last at least two years.

What do you guys think? Have you ever found a stylish and durable lunchbox you absolutely love? Please share!

CC

Hey, Domino's!!

Domino's recently launched "Gluten-Free" Pizza.  Their pizza is NOT GF, nor will it ever be GF. The fact that they are advertising it as such is wrong.  Sign Here to start the process of getting that "GF" labeling off of Domino's Pizza.

Thanks!

These Lights, They Made Me Want Thai Food

I was in the Big Apple recently, and it was pretty fun. Cold, and windy, but fun! As I am sure you know, there are many, many, GF options in NYC. I found a Thai restaurant with lots of GF food! From the dinner, (and lunch), I got there, it tasted pretty normal. Now, I haven't had "real" Thai food in a few years, but this tasted like the real thing to me. My favorite item was the Crispy Sesame Chicken. I really am not a fan of spicy foods, so I went with this over General Tso's. It was SO GOOD. Also, the portion size was HUGE, so I had leftovers! YUM!

Lili's 57

Enjoy your GF Leap Day!

C.C.

Fun Finals Food...Or Maybe Just Finals Food,

It's finals/midterms week. Yay. Ugh. Bleck. I mean, good god people, I have had above 90 in every class all year. Why no exemption????!!! Anyway, about the food.
Finals food. Filling, fun, finals food. (I love alliteration!) (Another Alliteration!) (I CAN'T STOP!. oh wait. just did.)
I have decided to bring those cute little Jif ToGo Cups, and a banana. Also, my usual bottle(s) of water. I chose those because I can eat them in the 5-15 minutes between exams, and they are filling as well as yummy!

There is my corn dog speech for the day. What are some of your tips for getting through long, dull days? Peanut Butter? Bananas? Maybe CHOCOLATE?

C.C.

Lordy Lordy

Dear Blogging,
My, My, How can I resist you? Mamma Mia, Here we go again!

Much GF Warmth to you and yours in the new year!

C.C.

Let's go to the MOOVIES!!!

I, like so many, many, other people, am a HUGE Harry Potter fan. Really REALLY huge. So I have now seen it twice. In less than five days. This, of course, means, that I have been in a Movie Theatre twice recently.
That got me thinking about popcorn, (you know), because in Movie Theatres there is lots of popcorn EVERYWHERE. :)
I was just wondering how you guys go about eating at Cinemas. Do you buy candy, or bring your own Popcorn?

(Sorry about the very short and incoherent post, I got about 5 hours of sleep last night, and still have to pack for two weeks of vacation...)

C.C.

Are they Cupcakes? Or are they Brownies?

A few months ago, I ran across this recipe while in a waiting room somewhere, and loved it immediately.
I was planning on making them for Father's Day, as the article suggests, but I forgot (of course!), and so I created them on Independence Day.

Here are a few things I learned:

Its best to make the brownie/cupcakes the day before you plan on serving them, just don't decorate until the day of. This way, they have a chance to cool, and you won't spend a good portion of the day in the kitchen.

GREASE THE BAKING CUPS. This seems obvious, and I am sure all you experienced bakers would do this anyway, but I skipped this step because the baking cups told me I did not have to. I DID HAVE TO, as it turns out. :)

Skip the dying of the icing and sticking it in a bag and all that. I tried that, made a huge mess, and it still did not work. On the second batch, I used black piping gel (it had sparkles, an added bonus for the "grill") that we picked up at the grocery store for like 3 dollars. Way easier, because not only does it use less ingredients, it has easier clean up, and is VERY easy to put on the cupcakes.

Make a glaze of confectioners sugar and water to brush on the cupcakes before you sprinkle on the sugar crystals for "embers". Otherwise, the crystals just fall off. I believe the recipe calls for putting the "grates" on and then the "embers", but that is just silly because embers on a real grill are below the grates, and the glaze is easy to assemble, as well as being clear.

I could not find any orange sugar crystals, so I used a combination of red and yellow. It seemed to work just as well, so no problem there...

Okay I think that is it :)

I did have one problem which is that I could not find and caramel-cream candies that were GF!! So i just used the non-GF kind, had my sister stick them on, and did not eat those brownies.

The Whole Batch:

 The "Hot Dogs":

 The "Kabobs":