An ode to Katz Gluten Free Cinnamon Rugelech, in haiku form:

Oh, I'm in love with

Such a yummy, crunchy treat;

So friendly* to eat.

* allergen/intolerance friendly: gluten, dairy, nut, & soy- free; kosher pareve

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I first had these pastries of joy when visiting a vitamin/health food shop near my grandpa in Central Jersey.  So for Thanksgiving this year, I asked him to pick me up some and bring it to our dinner.  He got them (Thanks, G-pa!) but unfortunately forgot the package(s) at home.  However, he delivered them to my mom later that weekend!  In fact, I delayed my drive back to Baltimore partly so I could depart with these in tow.

A quick scan of their website shows several flavors of rugelech as well as other allergen-free sweets. Best of all, their whole bakery is a dedicated gluten-free (certified by the GIG) facility.  For those with further dietary restrictions, it's also dairy- and nut-free and all products are certified kosher (OU).  [I'm not sure why it doesn't say lactose-free?]

Here are the ingredients for the Cinnamon Rugelech:
Gluten free flour (Potato Starch, Tapioca Flour, White Rice Flour, Brown Rice Flour, Sorghum Flour), Sugar, Canola oil, Egg, Water, confection Sugars, Orange Juice, Dry Yeast,  Xanthan Gum, Cinnamon, baking powder, Salt, Vanillin

Quarter-life changes.

Let me be the first to welcome my readers to the 2nd quarter-century of my life!  With this impressive milestone comes a new direction in this blog: from now on, I'll be writing in a more personal style.  Think first person, saracasm, biased reactions, and the occaisional interjection of non-gf related tidbits.  Great.

Anyway, this being my birthday week, I've certainly had my share of gluten free goodies.  Some of the items include:

•  Chocolate chip cake (a la Sweet Freedom bakery): gf, dairy-free, sugar-free; basically free of anything that might seem tasty.  Except it was tasty.  My friends loved it, my family loved it; I thought it was pretty good but not as good as...

• Vanilla cake made [not by me] using the Betty Crocker mix:  I was ready to swear off Betty's gf stuff forever, re: the brownie fiasco, but I'm a changed woman.  The deliciousness of this cake even lasted til the next morning, when I ate it for breakfast.  Sorry, Sweet Freedom, but the lessened learned here is that dairy and sugar will always trump non-dairy and non-sugar.

• Cupcakes, from Sweet Sin 
• Chocolate peanut-butter
• Chocolate cheesecake
• Red Velvet --> Note: I only had a bite of this. And MAN am I glad I did...opens up a whole new world of cake-flavor options.  Frankly, I don't like my desserts to be red. It makes me think there's fruit in it, and fruit has no place in [most of] my dessert.  Turns out the coloring is just from totally unnatural food dye--such a relief.

German Chocolate cupcake from Sweet Sin (Eaten by friends.)

The bite of the Red Velvet cupcake was from my most recent trip to Sweet Sin Bakery & Cafe.  A group of us went after the health fair and grueling 3K in Druid Hill Park.  Right after ordering, I changed my mind and decided to veer from my usual--veggie tacos or pizza--and order a 'real entree'.  You see, I've been hesitant to do this, because once you rule out the dishes that taste like coconut (which I don't like), you're left with mains such as mango chicken, lemon sesame chicken, and the day's 'special' (let's call a spade a spade--it's always the special) orange chicken.

I do not want fruit flavors mixed in with my proteins.

Anyway, I decided to suck it up and get the orange chicken because it just looked so darn good.  I chose the cabbage mix and sweet potatoes for my 2 sides.  All I can say is, yummy yummy yum yum yum.  Fret not, friends, the orange flavor was very subtle!  Having no idea what the cabbage would be like, I was quite pleased when it turned out to be warm and yellow and spicy.  Overall, the meal was great, and just the right size [for someone with a big appetite, which I have].

On Monday, I'm off to the gluten-free mecca of NYC!  I am super excited and will be sure to report back on the experience.  For real-time info about where I'm eating, be sure to check out bMoreGlutenFree's twitter!