Gluten Free Weekend

a few slices of Breads From Anna bread

black bean soup

We were invited to spend last weekend with some new friends who have a home in the hills of New Hampshire. One of the couple has Celiac Disease and they both keep their house entirely gluten free, just like my husband and I do at home. This is the first time we've spent a weekend with others where I didn't have to think twice about the food! Everything was gluten free. And I mean everything!!! And it was delicious and beautifully presented to boot! I don't have recipes to share, but I took a lot of pictures, which they were very gracious about letting me do. My husband is used to a photo shoot before we eat anything I've cooked or baked at home. Asking others to do the same could've made for a bad weekend. But they were most willing to let us snap away! We had straight-out-of-the-bread-machine hot Breads from Anna bread and black

bean soup for lunch, chocolate brownies for dessert (everything homemade)!

brie with marmalade and pecans

Our hosts took us on a vigorous hike in the snowy woods, narrating our walk with information about the terrain, the history of the area, and frequent, fascinating stops to look at and identify animal tracks. We then headed back home for a dip in the hot tub and a delicious dinner which included brie cheese warmed in the oven with marmalade and pecans spread over the top, and rice crackers for dipping (see picture above), squash and kale risotto, arugula with pears, red pepper, dried cranberries, glazed pecans,and balsamic cilantro dressing, and grilled marinated extra-large tiger shrimp. Oh, and for dessert, homemade little pots of lemon cloud!

butternut squash and kale risotto

arugula with pears, red pepper, dried cranberries, glazed pecans,
and balsamic cilantro dressing

grilled, marinated large tiger shrimp

individual pot of lemon cloud

And if that weren't enough to completely bowl us over, we started Sunday morning with homemade Cococnut Chocolate Chip Muffins and fresh sliced pineapple. We then burned off all the calories with another vigorous hike in the New Hampshire woods. Upon returning, we had a most glorious brunch which consisted of Scrambled Eggs with cheese, kale, and mushrooms and homemade Irish Soda Bread.

Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffin

Irish Soda Bread

All in all, it was a glorious weekend with two new friends who treated us like honored guests. It was lovely to be with people who helped us appreciate the outdoors, in fact, they gave us a new look and appreciation for living in the northeast during the winter! And to stay with people who not only care about food and its' presentation as much as we do, who serve simple, elegant, delicious gluten free fare, and who enjoy a good game of dominoes (even if we totally taught them how to play it incorrectly!!!), well, it was just one of the most enjoyable weekends we've had in a long time.

To all of our gluten free friends, may you be blessed with the company of good friends and delicious food!