Roasted Broccoli with Parmesan

Here in California I think we get spoiled with the variety and the amount of vegetables that are available year round.  When my family and I traveled this summer across the U.S. we found that vegetables were not so prevelant everywhere else.  Salads were some times just a bowl of icebeg lettuce with one slice of cucumer and two cherry tomotoes on top.  Not very appealing, or tasty.  What we craved the most while on our trip, were the beautiful, colorful and fresh vegetables that abound in California.  My family loves vegetables.  Not just some vegetables but all vegetables.  I know that unfortunately our lives often can get so hectic.  It can get to the point that all we can think of is getting that meal on the table without any regard to what goes into it, what it's nutritional value is, or how it looks and tastes.  Slop!  We sometimes get stuck into a routine and forget to create new and exciting vegetable dishes to tease our palettes.  But you know me, I am ever seeking for new recipes.  I don't care where I get them, just as long as they keep coming.  There is this new cooking show on the Food Network called "10 Dollar Meals with Melissa d'Arabian".  I like her show because she is extremly accessible.  She is always giving tips on how to create wonderfully tasty, and eye catching meals without having to break the bank.  This concept really hits home for us, because that is our exact philosophy.  Who wants to eat the same old dried up veggies or worse yet soggie, no color, lifeless vegetables?  Certainly not a vegetable out of a can.  Yuck!!  Not us, that's for sure.

This vegetable dish is extremely easy, yet looks fancy; fine dining if you will.  Plus, roasting the broccoli does not mean it will lose anything in color, flavor, or texture.  Did I mention it only takes a few minutes to prep this dish and it costs less than a dollar for a family of four to serve?  And yet again a dish I can throw into the oven while the rest of dinner is being prepared and I am working on homework with my daughter.  This would be a nice dish to serve for a huge family gathering or party.  Simple yet elegant.  FYI, this concept of roasting vegetables can be adhered to many vegetables.  As a Puerto Rican I would be remiss if I did not add a little, if not alot of fresh minced garlic, and you could always add some fresh minced herbs, or marinade the veggies in a nice salad dressing before you roast them.  Remember to be creative and there is no wrong way to do this!

ROASTED BROCCOLI WITH PARMESAN
Recipe courtesy Melissa d'Arabian
Show: Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d'Arabian Episode: Supper for a Song
4 servings
Ingredients
• 1 head broccoli
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel the outer layer of the broccoli stalks. Cut the broccoli lengthwise keeping the stalk and broccoli florets intact. (The long broccoli spears should resemble trees.) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Toss to coat and roast until nicely caramelized, about 15 minutes. Turn broccoli over and sprinkle with grated the Parmesan. Cook until the Parmesan melts, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl or platter and serve immediately.

Click on this link to see this recipe on the Food Network:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/roasted-broccoli-with-parmesan-recipe2/index.html

Camp Celiac 2009

So after returning from our three week cross country trip from California to upstate New York and back we had a little over a week and then we were off to Camp Celiac at Camp Arroyo http://www.celiaccamp.com/ in Livermore, California. Camp Arroyo is part of The Taylor Family Foundation http://www.ttff.org/. Elaine Taylor who is the founder of this foundation is also a Celiac and understand the hardships that children with this disease face, created a week of Celiac camp. Camp Arroyo allows children with various disabilities to come for a week of camp for only a nominal $25.00 registration fee. As the camp runs solely on donations my husband and I volunteer as much as we can. It is not all work, it is so much fun!!

This camp while having tons of amenities of a REAL camp experience is based more on the food. Gluten-free food that is! Elaine Taylor hunts high and low to ensure that only the best gluten-free foods are prepared and served at Camp Celiac. Everything from French toast, waffles, pancakes, bagels, all of the bread you can eat, home made pizza, Pad Thai, ravioli's, chicken strips, lasagna, Caesar salad, a salad bar and sandwich bar at every lunch and dinner, chocolate souffles, cupcakes, ice cream on ice cream cones, brownies, birthday cake, cherry and apple pie to just name a few, were some of the delectable fare served at camp.

The most amazing attribute of this Celiac Camp is that not only the children that participate have Celiac but the ALL of the counselors, and parent volunteers as well. You can't even imagine what a great experience this is for all involved. The children all become instant friends and they all look out for each other. There is no other place in the world where all of these children feel so much acceptance, and empathy.

This year at camp I was able to do a gluten-free cooking class for mostly the junior counselors, some campers, and parent volunteers. While the class was not one of my usual classes (because the attendants were primarily 19 years old and under and I did not actually have a kitchen) it was quite enjoyable. I served them three different kinds of cake: Black Forest, Carrot Chocolate Chunk, and Orange Pound Cake. I shared recipes and my philosophy on cooking and baking gluten-free.

Although everyone was exhausted, no one really wanted camp to end (except for Elaine's kitchen staff who were cooking and baking non-stop!). We ended our week with an awesome gluten-free vendor fair. We had over 16 gluten-free vendors. It was a taste treat for all of the senses!! We again had more food to sample and take home with us.

Click on this link to see photos and videos from camp: http://campceliacshutterfly.com/ .

CRAZY, CRAZY SUMMER!!!

Oh my gosh, it seems like forever since I have written anything in this blog! all I can say is that it has been a crazy, crazy summer (In a good way)!! Before summer even started we were busy with end of the school year things for both my husband, Michael and my daughter Autumn. Michael is a teacher and always has so many activities at the end of the school year. This was my Autumn's last year in elementary school. 6th grade, wow, time sure flies by. There were end of the school year parties, field trips, and a big graduation.

After Michael and Autumn finished school/work we head out on a cross country trek from California to upstate New York to visit our son Daniel, his wife Sarah and our grandson DJ. Daniel is stationed at Fort Drum in upstate New York. He will be deploying for Iraq on October 1st, 2009. His first time since being in the Army. Along the way we stopped at many beautiful places. We stayed nine days visiting with our son and his family and seeing some of the many beautiful sights in upstate New York. Then we headed back to California, again making many more stops along the way.
Please check out our photo album, just click on the link: http://ourcrosscountrytrip2009.shutterfly.com/

But let me tell you first and foremost I would like to discuss the extremely high anxiety I had because my daughter and I are both Celiacs. Travel for Celiacs, even just short jaunts in your own hometown have to be planned out to the letter. We need to pack tons of food, and know where every restaurant (fast food, casual dining and fine dining) are located. Not to mention where every great bathroom is as well. So how do you do that in unfamiliar territory? The more I thought about the many states we would be driving through the more the fear and panic would take over. So I told myself, you can totally immobilize yourself, or you can be proactive. I decided go with the latter. I began researching each state that we would be driving through and expanded my search to all of the cities that we would be passing through to locate gluten-free restaurants and grocery stores that carried gluten-free items. Luckily for me I happened upon a great website called "The Gluten Free Registry". At their website you can click on the state and then it gives you a list of all of the cities that are registered with them. These registries are based on chefs, restaurants, grocery stores, health food stores and consumers who have written in with their sources of great gluten-free food. Again, not all restaurants have been completely examined, so be advised. We were 95% successful with their recommendations. I also contacted several of the local chapters of the Celiac Sprue Association and Celiac Disease Foundation for guidance on this same matter. It was well worth the effort. I had accumulated data for each state and printed a version for us to take on our trip. We were pleasantly surprised in most states as to the variety that we found and in some states we drove very quickly so we could avoid having to eat all together. All in all, we were very successful and we had a fantastic time. Albeit some of our days were too long (drive wise), but a lesson learned for my husband for next time. Yes, I am daring to say next time because it was absolutely incredible to see how beautiful and diverse our country truly is. I am ever proud to be an American!! It feel that is so easy to become complacent with our minute surroundings and never really grasp the wondrous world that we live in. So I say venture out, see the world if you dare! But don't let being Celiac hold you back. I will update with highlights from various states in upcoming posts. Stay tuned!!

Needless to say, I am so glad to be back home and in my own bed. Not to mention, having our own delicious home cooked food and the diversity of fresh produce that we have here in California.