The Ritz Carleton goes Gluten Free

We love the Ritz Carleton in Naples, Florida. When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease two years ago Tina and I spent a week at the Naples, Ritz. We spend a great deal of time in Naples, usually renting a condo or staying with Tina's mother. We had never gone during the hot summer months and we wanted to pamper ourselves after learning about my Celiac Disease. We could not pass up the summer rates at the Ritz. We spent four days sitting by the pool ordering bowls of fresh fruit and met Mario, the food and beverage director of the hotel. Mario took good care of me, making sure I ate safely. We have returned to the Ritz many time since then and Mario continues to deliver over the top GF treats for me. We decided on that first summer trip that it would be fun to take a summer beach trip with our nieces, this summer was our second annual trip with them to the Naples Ritz. The girls loved parasailing, kayaking, and hanging out at the pool and the beach. And once again, Mario made sure I had what ever I needed. One evening the chef made me a special GF pizza that we took to our favorite pizza spot so I could enjoy my own pizza. The morning we left, everyone had a gluten free pancake breakfast. Mario left homemade GF cookies in my room, fresh fruit, blueberry muffins, and other treats. It made for a wonderful, safe, carefree trip.

STAND UP FOR TIBET! NO OLYMPIC TORCH IN TIBET

This weekend the Olympic Torch will arrive in Tibet, Lhasa to be exact. In our effort to support our Tibetan community and stand up for human rights issues in Tibet we will keep the Tibetan Flag hanging all summer. This weekend we will display this banner which would be illegal in Tibet. There is no media coverage allowed in Tibet, so don't expect to see any coverage as China parades the Olympic Torch through the capital of Tibet. We stand in solidarity with our Tibetan friends, especially this weekend! We pray for those monks, nuns and citizens who have been oppressed, killed, beaten, imprisoned and "re educated" under the Chinese Government.

MY BACK PORCH

We live in a condo, which means a shared yard. I don't like to garden so I stay clear of volunteering for any association yard work. I do however love to have my own fresh herbs on hand. I am sure they would do much better in the ground but my hanging pots work just find. Every spring I play hooke from work and go to the local farmers market with my partner and get my favorite herbs.  Tina re pots all of them for me. This year we have basil cilantro, parsley, thyme, mint, rosemary, basil and some dill which has already died. It is so fun to have fresh herbs on hand for what ever, when ever. I am partial to the rosemary and the basil. I love tossing diced potatos with olive oil, salt and fresh rosemary and roasting them. I use most of the cilantro for indian dishes. I am a bit conservative with using the basil since I love to make pesto in the fall and freeze it for the winter.

GLUTEN FREE ONION RINGS

When I was first diagnosed with celiac disease my partner had a very difficult time dealing with the fact that I could never eat gluten again. She was mostly sad for me, but I know she was worried about how it would impact us. I had to reassure her that she did not need to be gluten free and that we would still enjoy cooking, eating out and sharing food together. Initially it was hard and every time I realized there was something else I would not be able to have Tina was sad. Early on I realized that for the most part I would have to give up french fries and onion rings, two things I just loved, especially in restaurants! Tina came home one day with a small fry daddy and said, we are going to master gluten free onion rings and safely fried french fries. She started with the fries. What a treat. While I had enjoyed many a french fry before, we have never made home fries. They were the best. Then she started working on gluten free onion rings. It did not take her long to perfect them! These onion rings are the result of some very simple steps. After cutting the onion Tina coats them in corn starch, dips them in egg white and then tosses them in Organ gluten free bread crumbs and fries them twice in the fry daddy using vegetable oil. This past Sunday we had some friends over for a grilled burger, tossed salad and these tasty onion rings. They were a big hit!

PUCKER UP

Fresh squeezed lemonade, the quintessential flavor of summer. It is so easy to make the real thing, and once you taste the difference, you will never drink those awful imitations again. I use the follow as a general guide line, one cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice, 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet or tart you like your lemonade and four cups of water. I usually strain the juice before mixing it all together and I love to freeze some in ice cube trays. Using lemonade ice cubes prevents a watered down treat! I also zest all of my lemons before I juice them. I save the zest in zip lock bags in the freezer. That way I have fresh lemon zest on hand!

I LOVE TIBET

NOT GLUTEN FREE

I have not been tempted by anything until I made this Hungarian Shortbread. By the reactions of those who could indulge, if I ever do decide to cheat, this will be the culprit! I never ache for anything, I find myself completely satisfied on  my gluten free diet, but oh, this does look good. I also don't keep a gluten free kitchen. We are very very careful, two toasters, separate wooden spoons,  a separate freezer for all our gluten free flours, well labeled jars in the fridge and a partner who is equally careful. If I do bake with wheat flour, or any gluten, it is after I have complete my gluten free cooking. This light, crumbly shortbread is the result of a clever technique: freezing the dough and grating it. It is based on a recipe by Dorie Greenspan.

2 cups wheat flour, plus more as needed

1 tsp baking powder

1/8 tsp fine salt

1/2 pound sweet, unsalted butter, plus more to prepare pan

1 cup sugar

2 egg yolks

3/4 cup good raspberry jam (I use the kind with seeds from Stonewall)

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together, set aside. Cream butter in a kitchen aide mixer using the paddle attachment for 2 minutes. Add sugar and egg yolks and continue to cream for another 4 minutes. With the mixer on slow, add the flour mixture until it comes together, about a minute. Turn dough onto a light floured surface and bring together with your hands. Divide dough into two disks and wrap in plastic wrap. Freeze for at least an hour and up to 3 hours. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan. Remove disks from freezer, unwrap, and grate one disk using the large holes of a box grater, directly into the the prepared pan. Gently pat grated dough to even it out. Spread the jam evenly over the dough leaving a half inch border around the edges. Grate remaining disk over the jam layer and pat gently to even out the surfaces. Bake until light golden brown, about 45 - 60 minutes, depending on your oven. Cool on a wrack completely before removing from pan. Dust with powdered sugar.