Noodle-mania

It’s been a while since my last post, apologies, but I’ve been a busy bee with school and finals. Now I breathe relieved, and start enjoying my winter break. So many exciting plans this winter break!

Sadly, I will not be going home for Christmas, but to make up for it, we have two good friends visiting from Texas for both Christmas and New Years. I’m actually very excited about this, and especially because I get to prepare a big Danish Christmas dinner for my friends. But no worries, there will be a separate blog post dedicated to that.

Since I now have all this time on my hands, I plan on getting back into explorer-mode and finally pay a visit to some of the places in my neighborhood I’ve had my eye on for a while. I started last night, by going out to dinner with a Danish friend who’s also living here in Seattle. I asked her what she was in the mood for, and she said “maybe something spicy?”, and so I turned to google for help. We knew we wanted to be close to 12th and Pike in Capitol Hill, so I looked up restaurants in that area.

I found Boom Noodle which is located exactly at the corner of 12th and Pike AND they offer vegan and gluten free dishes. Perfect, I thought. Aaaand perfect it was. Affordable and delicious, it was a home run! And also, they had a really good ambiance. I had the Pad Thai that was absolutely delicious, and my friend had the Vietnamese pork which seemed to be a big hit as well. They also have a great happy hour menu from 3-7pm, however that requires that you sit at the bar.

Our server was super friendly, and very attentive – maybe even a tad too attentive. Cultural observation: Americans sometimes seem to be in a rush when dining out, where as in Denmark we like to take our sweet time when dining out. We might have surprised our server with our shocking behavior – spending close to 2 hours talking and eating. But hey – that’s what you do when out with good friends right? Although our server seemed slightly baffled that we let the check sit for a while, he was still very nice. And to our defense, he did say “whenever you are ready”, maybe we took it a little too literal.

But, all in all, a really good experience, and I will definitely be coming back. So if you find yourself in that area craving a good affordable noodle dish served in a cozy setting, Boom Noodle is your spot! Enjoy 🙂

Thanksgiving with Mama Moore

Aaah, Thanksgiving. What a wonderful holiday! Since I am not American, this is a holiday that is pretty new to me. In Denmark, where I am from, we have the “traditional” holidays such as Christmas and Easter, however, no Thanksgiving! Since I am living here now though, this is a holiday I have to start celebrating, and what a great holiday it is. This year will be my second time ever celebrating (and also hosting!) Thanksgiving. This time last year I was living in Madison, WI as part of an exchange semester there and hosted a big Thanksgiving dinner.  I had so much fun learning about the story behind Thanksgiving and all the traditions. I can’t take credit though, and although I “hosted” Thanksgiving dinner in the sense that it was at my house, I did not cook the actual meal.

I am so lucky to have the best American “bonus” parents (aka my better half’s parents), and Mama Moore is without a doubt one of the best cooks I know – no offense to my own mother who is of course also a wonderful cook! 😉

Mama Moore, not one to back down from a challenge, cooked a 100% lactose free Thanksgiving meal last year, and for that I was beyond thankful. You know how tough it can be to cater to your own dietary issues? Imagine that someone else is willing to do that for you. As I said, I am one lucky girl.

As I recently realized I am also gluten intolerant, I upped the challenge for Mama Moore this year. But like I said, she faces challenges head on. Not only did Matt’s family travel a long way to come to Seattle and celebrate with us (from Chicago and Houston), Mama Moore is once again cooking a massive Thanksgiving dinner and this year it will be 100% lactose and gluten free! How does she do it you might ask? Well, it wasn’t easy, and it definitely took a lot of planning and prepping. Mama Moore started experimenting with making her traditional Thanksgiving dishes gluten and lactose free months ago, grocery shopping started Tuesday morning, and Thanksgiving dinner prep work started Tuesday afternoon, and went on till today – Thanksgiving! This, my friends, is what you would call dedication. Mama Moore is a wonderful woman, and for her, I am thankful.

So this years’ Thanksgiving dinner was the following (and EVERYTHING was made gluten and lactose free):

• Turkey (doh of course!)
• Garlic mashed potatoes
• Stuffed peppers stuffed with Mama Moore’s special shrimp and ham stuffing
• Jalapeno and cheddar corn bread
• Brown, wild, and red rice with toasted pecans and sauteed babybello mushrooms
• Salad with roasted butternut squash, dried cranberries, and walnuts, with an apple cider vinaigrette
• Gravy
• Cream spinach
• Sweet potatoes with spiced butter

And for dessert we’re having pumpkin pie and pecan pie with lactose free vanilla ice cream. YUM

Yes I most likely just gained 5 pounds, but everything was so unbelievably delicious that it was well worth it. And yay for leftovers!

As for recipes – sorry folks, Mama Moore likes to keep it in the family, so you’re just going to have to settle for the pictures 🙂

Mama Moore’s beautiful Thanksgiving table

A small selection of Mama Moore’s Thanksgiving spread

Liebster award – what an honor!

I am very new to blogging, and at first I was very confused about this award that I was nominated for. But what an honor! So thank you to my two fellow students Jessica Hall and Amber Holick! I am paying it forward, and I have nominated 11 bloggers for the same award, and I hope you will check out their blogs – the links are provided in this post. Read on if you want to know some fun facts about myself, and expand your blog universe!

Here’s how it works. There are 4 steps to receiving this award:

1. List 11 things about yourself.
2. Answer your nominator’s 11 questions.
3. Choose up to 11 bloggers with less than 200 followers and ask them your own questions.
4. Inform your nominees of their award nominations.

11 Things About Me:

1. I was born in Roskilde, Denmark.
2. I am gluten and lactose intolerant.
3. I’m a die-hard Gavin Degraw fan.
4. Gin and tonic is my favorite drink.
5. I’ve worked as a barista for 6 years, and I’m a really good one if I must say so myself.
6. My mother is from Greenland, and my father is part Swedish.
7. My favorite color is purple.
8. I play the guitar and sing, but for a while I secretly wanted to be a rapper. Ooops.
9. I love snowboarding and I want to learn skateboarding and longboarding.
10. I was on a Danish music television show on choirs competing and won.
11. I have an impressive sweater, hat, scarf, and shoe collection.

Jessica’s questions:

1. What sparked your blog idea?

Well, this blog was started as a class project, and I was told to choose a topic I feel passionate about. Since I am both lactose and gluten intolerant, finding both products and places to eat is always a challenge. So with me moving to a new city in a new country, I thought it would be helpful for both myself and others if I explore the gluten and lactose free options my new home has to offer, and write about it.

2. What’s been the most difficult part about blogging?

The most difficult part about blogging has been to get people to engage with my blog. It actually continues to be a struggle, so I am thankful for this award.

3. What have you learned in the process of blogging?

I think I’ve become a better writer in the process, and I feel like I’ve found my personal writing style.

4. If you’re on Twitter, whose your favorite person to follow? If not, favorite Facebook page?

My favorite “person” to follow on Twitter is Womens Health magazine. They are always posting great tips.

5. What’s your favorite food?

French fries. Or any kind of potato dish I guess.

6. If you could only make one trip, where is the one place you want to visit in the world?

I would go see my mom in Greenland. I miss her!

7. What are you most looking forward to this holiday season?

Cooking a big Danish Christmas dinner. And flæskesteg (Danish traditional pork roast) specially ordered from the Scandinavian store in Ballard.

8. What’s that last book that you read (for fun)?

“The girl who played with fire” by Stieg Larsson. I am actually still reading it.

9. What do you think about Pinterest?

Love it! I use Pinterest all the time.

10. What’s your favorite magazine?

Women’s Health and Cosmo.

11. Holiday cards: a do or don’t?

Do! I am so bad at it myself, but I commend the people who do it, and I always appreciate being on the receiving end.

The winners!

1. 26 miles to runner
2. Feminist assemblage
3. The feminine side of fantasy football
4. Digital noms
5. Seattle weekend brunch
6. Globalization ramen
7. Intentional Seattle
8. Biking Seattle
9. The marathon newbie
10. Ultimate road warrior
11. Dog gone Seattle

My questions for the bloggers:

1. What’s your best trick for encouraging readers to interact with your blog?
2. If you were stranded on an island, what would be the three things you could not be without?
3. Gin or vodka?
4. What’s the most exciting place you’ve ever visited?
5. Snow or beach?
6. What’s on your Christmas menu?
7. What’s your favorite blog to read, and why?
8. If you could speak any language other than your native one, which one would it be?
9. What’s your favorite holiday memory?
10. What’s your favorite movie?
11. What is your most proud accomplishment?

Thai take out and gluten free beer!

I love thai food. Love love love thai food. Which is very fortunate as thai food is often both lactose free and gluten free.

Since I moved to Seattle, I’ve been wanting to explore the vast amount of thai places in my neighborhood of Capitol Hill, but I am a little embarrassed to admit that I found a place that I liked, and I stuck to it. Eventually I am sure I will get sick of it, and move on to explore new places, but for now, I have found a clear favorite. On Broadway, right by Roy street is a cute little place called Rom Mai Thai that has become my go-to place for my thai food fix. It’s. Just. So. Good.!

I have found that I am also not very adventurous when it comes to the different thai dishes that they have, but hey – I know what I like! Kee Mao Noodle is my personal winner, it is so delicious. As the name of the dish reveals, it’s a (rice) noodle dish with your choice of meat (I’m a sucker for pork, as most other Danish folks), and a bunch of vegetables. I especially like that they are so generous with the volume of vegetables they put in it. What makes this dish so well suited for my dietary restrictions is the wide rice noodles (that are just so soft and delicious) that contain neither gluten nor lactose, and the fact that they don’t use soy sauce. I don’t know if it’s common knowledge for most gluten free people that soy sauce contains gluten, but it was something I discovered pretty late in the game, which sucks for someone like myself who is big on sushi as well. But yay, no soy in this thai dish!

When ordering food at Rom Mai Thai they ask you how hot you would like your food, on a 1-5 scale. I like hot, but I don’t like it so hot that I can’t taste my food and I am blowing smoke out my ears. So the first time I tried their food I asked for number 2 hotness, thinking I would be safe. But watch out people, they do not mess around with their hotness, and even a number 2 is pretty hot. From there on out I always stick with number 1. 1 is the magical number. But if you like to feel the burn, by all means, take it up a notch. Who knows, 1 might not be everyones magical number.

So we’ve established that I really like thai food, but I also really like beer. And I especially like the combination of thai food and beer. But beer is a no-no for gluten intolerance right? Au contraire my friend, you can actually find good gluten free beer out there. Just like me and my thai food, I have also found a favorite among the (few) gluten free beers, and Redbridge is the winner. It’s a sorghum beer that resembles “normal” beer, and is really smooth to drink. I find that many grocery stores in Seattle carry this beer, and I usually buy my Redbridge at QFC on Broadway. If this beer is not in your taste, there are a few other alternatives out there, and this guide might be helpful: the-best-and-worst-gluten-free-beers.

One last thing to remark; the service at Rom Mai Thai is exceptional. They are super friendly, and the last time I ordered food, they had my order ready in less than 5 minutes. I like!

you get to talk to this guy while you’re waiting for your food…

Kee Mao Noodle + gluten free beer!

“Feels like Sunday” baking.

Today has been such a weird day. In spite of it actually being Monday today, my body has been subject to an all-day Sunday feeling. A Sunday feeling really just translates to “I’m-lazy-and-I-wan’t-to-wear-my-pajama-pants-all-day-and-never-leave-my-house”, so that’s pretty much what I did.

That Sunday feeling also brings back fond memories of still living at home, and eating my mom’s home-baked buns while curling up on the couch with a cup of tea. Lately I’ve been feeling quite homesick, so when my mom told me about how she had just baked fresh buns in our skype conversation the other day, I felt a strong urge to bake, just to miss her a little less.

Since I am the only one in my family with a gluten sensitivity, and only recently discovered it, I can no longer eat my mom’s lovely home-baking. So I modified the recipe a little, and made it glutenfree (as it was already lactosefree), and it actually turned out really well. I basically just substituted the normal wheat flour with all-purpose glutenfree baking flour from Bob’s Red Mill, and followed the recipe as normal. My mom’s recipe is in Danish metrics, but I’ve translated them into American measures for your convenience.

Here’s what you need:

1 packet of dry yeast

2 1/4 cups of lukewarm water (if warmer you will kill the yeast)

2 1/2 cups of GF oats

2 teaspoons of coarse salt

2 tablespoons of sugar

1/2 cup of canola or corn oil

2 eggs (or substitute with flaxmeal to make them vegan. 1 egg = 1 tablespoon of flax meal and 3 tablespoons of water)

3/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds

4 1/4 cups of GF flour

Here’s how you make them:

Mix your yeast into your lukewarm water, and make sure you stir till properly mixed. Add the rest of your ingredients and knead your dough (which will have a very soft texture) for about 5 minutes. Let your dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature. Shape your dough into 25 buns, and let them rise while your oven is heating up to 435 degrees (Fahrenheit). Let your buns bake for 15-20 minutes (until golden).

Fresh out of the oven – (almost) just like my mom makes them!

 

They turned out really well, although using GF flour makes for a different texture, and I would maybe add a couple of extra eggs for future reference. But they are tasty, I promise!

Enjoy!

The quest for favorite holiday drinks

I might be getting ahead of myself here, but as the holidays are slowly approaching, the stores start to stock up on various holiday goodies. I know it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but I got very excited at the central co-op by 15th when I saw that they already had soy versions of holiday drinks in stock. I have to admit, I am a sucker for anything chocolate-y, and since chocolate products most often contain lactose, I get very excited when I find chocolate I can actually have.

So of course when I saw Silk’s mint chocolate soy milk, I knew I wasn’t leaving empty handed. I had never tried it before (as we don’t have this product in Denmark), but thought that chocolate and mint sounded like the best combination ever.

For extra decadence I also purchased some soy whip from soyatoo to top my hot mint chocolate.

I heated up my mint chocolate and whipped my soy, and felt like christmas was right around the corner as I drank it. I was however slightly disappointed in the taste of the mint chocolate as it tasted almost diluted, and would probably be better with some added chocolate soy milk.

Thank goodness I have over a month to try all the different glutenfree and lactosefree holiday drinks out there. If you have any favorites you would recommend, I would love a comment!

(Prematurely) merry christmas!

Happy Halloween Cookie Monster!

Happy halloween everyone! And yes, it is another rainy day in Seattle. I guess I have to get used to it, this rain isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

When the weather is wet and grey like today, you have to keep yourself occupied with inn-doorsy stuff. Like what, you might ask? Cookies! Bake cookies! That’s what I did today. I have an evening class tonight where I have to do a presentation about cookies, not the yummy kinds, but the computer kind. So, with today being halloween and all, I thought it might be a nice treat for everyone tonight if  I stuck with the cookie theme, and baked some of the yummy ones. Tonight I am not only catering to my own intolerances, but to my vegan classmate as well, so I decided to bake vegan and glutenfree (GF) oatmeal/raisin cookies. I totally cheated, and tried one fresh out of the oven, and they are delicious!

Here’s what you need:

2 1/2 cups of all purpose GF baking flour

3 cups of GF oats

1 cup of raisins

1 1/2 cups of brown sugar

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking soda

the recipe called for 6 eggs, but I substituted with flax meal to make them vegan (1 egg = 1 tablespoon of flax meal and 3 tablespoons of water)

1 cup of melted butter (I used Earth Balance’s natural buttery spread)

1 cup of almond milk

Here’s how you make them:

Mix together all your dry ingredients before adding the liquids, and make sure everything is mixed well together. Refrigerate your dough for app. 30 minutes while you preheat your oven to 350 degrees (Fahrenheit). Spoon your dough into 24 mounds on a non-stick baking tray, and bake for 25 minutes.

Let your cookies cool of before you serve them – enjoy!

GF and vegan oatmeal/raisin cookies!

 

Super soup in Capitol Hill

After an unusually long summer, fall has taken over Seattle. Prior to moving to Seattle, many people had warned me about the miserable weather Seattle has to offer. Lots of grey, and lots of rain. Hmm, doesn’t really sound that different from Copenhagen where I am from.

However, arriving in Seattle in late August, in what I was told was an unusual stretch of awesome weather, it was hard for me to imagine that Seattle could ever be dreary and wet. Now, what was hard to imagine in August, has become a reality. Almost without warning, the weather switched from being sunny and warm, to being cold, rainy, and grey. The sudden change in weather honestly does not bother my mood too much, and as I mentioned I am pretty much used to this kind of weather from back home. My body however did seem a little shocked by the sudden change, and there’s been days where flu-like symptoms have taken over my otherwise good health and positive spirit.

So, what to do when your body is feeling run down and the weather is depressing? Soup! And not just any kind of soup. I like to call this soup, super soup.

Yes, you’ve guessed it. I am talking about the magical Vietnamese Pho. This delicious soup is a rice-noodle soup usually served with beef or chicken, and garnished with sprouts, lime wedges, green onion, basil, and cilantro. I call it the super soup because it works wonders for a run down body. The broth is rich on electrolytes, and helps your body maintain its fluid balance. And it’s also just really yummy!

Seattle is not shy on Pho places, and I have been trying to scope out the best ones in my neighborhood. I have narrowed it down to my two top Pho places: Than Brothers  and Pho Cyclo Café, both are located on Broadway, within spitting distance of each other. Both places are awesome, but my personal favorite is for the time being Than Brothers. Than Brothers doesn’t look like much from the outside (or the inside for that matter), but their Pho is delicious.

If in Capitol Hill and feeling under the weather, do yourself a favor, and go get yourself some Pho. And most importantly, the super soup is completely safe for lactose- and gluten-intolerant people as myself – enjoy!

Photo courtesy of Rory MacLeod (http://www.flickr.com/photos/macrj/7678969788/)

Exploring Capitol Hill

I have now been a Seattleite for 2 months and 4 days, and oh boy has time flown. I still feel pretty confident that I chose the best neighborhood in Seattle to settle down in – Capitol Hill.

Capitol Hill is a mix of so many things, and sometimes when people ask me to explain my neighborhood, I don’t even really know where to start. One thing is for sure, there is never a dull moment in Capitol Hill. I am daily entertained by the eccentric people of Capitol Hill that usually hang around on Broadway, and these people have become so frequent in my day to day life, that I have started giving them nicknames. My absolute favorite character on Broadway is Whip Man. Whip Man is a peculiar guy who likes to hang around Broadway and Roy, and sometimes he even makes his way down to QFC. The reasoning behind his nickname is really simple; Whip Man has an imaginary whip that he likes to whip after people while making barking sounds. So there you go! I have also heard tales about another character that I have named Baby Pink, and from what I hear, she’s dressed in a (baby) jumpsuit, carrying around a pink guitar. I have not yet had the pleasure of running into her, but I hope to soon.

So with all these fun and eccentric characters around, how does one really explain Capitol Hill in a way that will do it justice? I’ll try; eccentric, quirky, fun, happening, hipster, and cute. I’m sure there are a million other adjectives that could be used, but these will do for now.

The other day I went out for a walk to explore new parts of Capitol Hill that I hadn’t really seen on foot yet. I walked up East Madison Street and came across 3 places that I will definitely go back to.

The first one was Healeo on 15th and E Madison. I didn’t really notice the place when walking by it at first, but on my way back, their street sign caught my eye. The sign read: “Vegan Hemp Soft Serve”. I am a sucker for soft serve, but have never before found a place that has a lactose free soft serve. That sign made my day, and I will definitely be coming back here!

The co-op is right by this intersection

The next place I want to mention is Central Co-op also on E Madison.This place has an amazingly wide range of gluten free and lactose free products. I was happy to see that they have lactose free sour cream, instead of the vegan sour cream I usually find that is made from tofu. So if you are looking for gluten free and lactose free options – visit the Co-op on E Madison!

The third and final place I want to highlight is Trader Joe’s on E Madison. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have a BIG range of products for being gluten free and lactose free, but I did find one really yummy snack (recommended by two of my classmates, Jessica Hall and Dawn Quinn. Check out their blogs at the bottom of this post). Trader Joe’s sea salt and turbinado sugar dark chocolate almonds are to die for, AND they don’t contain either gluten or lactose. However, depending on your sensitivity you should be aware that this snack is processed in a facility that also processes dairy and gluten. If not, go crazy and indulge in this yummy snack!

Soooo good!

These are just a few of the many places Capitol Hill has to offer, and I can’t wait to discover more!

Jessical Hall is blogging about being a military spouse, check it out here: More Than a Military Spouse

Dawn Quinn is blogging about her vegan adventures, check it out here: Vegan Moxie

What’s for breakfast?

I’m always curious to find out what people, other than myself with similar dietary restrictions, have for breakfast. In Denmark, where I am from, the normal and very popular breakfast choice is a breakfast roll (usually white bread) topped with butter and cheese. Yeaaah, so since absolutely none of that works for me (you would probably struggle to find a more gluten and lactose heavy breakfast), I have had to think creatively.

So lucky for me, I really like porridge. Any kind of porridge really, but with my recently discovered gluten intolerance, even my choices of porridge have been narrowed down. Before I moved to Seattle, I was basically living of off buckwheat porridge, and absolutely loved it. It was so easy and quick to make, top it with some dried fruits and nuts, and you had yourself a healthy and wholesome breakfast.

However, I’ve been unable to find buckwheat flour in Seattle, like the kind we have in Denmark, so once again I’ve had to find something else to eat. One thing that I really love about this country though, is the fact that you can find pretty much anything in a glutenfree version. Granted, you’re paying a little extra for those products, but it’s still nice to have the freedom to cook “normal” meals glutenfree.

I usually do my grocery shopping at either QFC on Broadway or Safeway on 15th, and both places have a good selection of both glutenfree and lactosefree products. I started buying GF oats from Bobs Red Mill (they have them at both supermarkets), and cook oatmeal for breakfast. It takes less than five minutes to make, and will keep you full for hours.

So, GF oatmeal is my current go-to breakfast, what’s yours?

GF oatmeal topped with a little bit of pepper/raspberry jam, raisins, chopped almonds, and a little almond milk. So delicious!