Monday, December 21, 2009

Making Gluten Free Pizza on a Grill


Alright I know it's cold outside, but I have to share this AMAZING recipe with you!  It tastes exactly like brick oven pizza -- and it's 100% gluten free!

Ingredients:
Chebe Cheesy Gluten-Free Bread Mix
GF Tomato Sauce of Your Choice (I really like Bertolli's Organic Sauce!)
Provolone Cheese (1 Pack)
1 Organic Green Pepper
Boar's Head Pepperoni
(Feel free to use any toppings of your choice!)

Preparation:
First, prepare the pizza dough as listed on the Chebe Bread Package. (I've noticed that I like making Pizza with the Bread, but Chebe also has a Chebe Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Mix.)

Spread the pizza dough out on a large piece of aluminum foil until it is in your desired shape (round, square, oval...or be creative!)

Then, place the pizza dough upside down on the grill, so the top side of the pizza gets nice and toasty.  (Make sure to move the pizza around the grill, so it does not stick.) After about 10 minutes, flip the pizza over and add your chosen pizza sauce.  Next, add cheese slices equally around the pizza dough and follow with other various toppings.  Cook the pizza approximately 15-20 minutes, depending on the heat of your grill. 

Remove the tin foil, and enjoy you're wonderful pizza!

**Tip: Make sure to oil the foil before spreading out the dough, so it doesn't stick!

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

October Celiac Awareness Dinner Success

This post has been a long time in the making! First of all, I would like to thank all of you who came out to Benjamin's Restaurant to be an advocate for Celiac Awareness! We wouldn't have raised the funds needed for a certified Gluten-Free restaurant without you! I would like to give another very special thank you to Patty and Julie Anne of Sisters Three Gluten Free (www.SistersThreeGlutenFree.com)for providing delicious gluten free bread for our meal! Finally, I would like to thank Chef Regis McGill for taking care of our gluten free needs and preparing a wonderful meal!

Our meal began with a fresh greens salad. Attendees had a choice of three gluten free dinner entrees: Cedar Plank Salmon, Chicken Lafayette, and Pork Othello. I choose the Chicken Lafayette which practically melted in my mouth! Following dinner we enjoyed a dish of mocha gelato -- the perfect ending to our gluten free dinner!

As a thank you, attendees received a "gluten free swag bag" full of gluten free goodies. The Pamela's chocolate cookies were definitely my favorite!

Check back very soon for more information on the first restaurant earning Gluten Free Certification in Indiana!! :)

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Celiac Awareness Day with the Pittsburgh Pirates!

Great Seats!


Gluten-Free Burger (& Bun!!!)


A special thank you to Steve at Aramark for putting together a Gluten Free Concession Stand for the Celiac Awareness Day!



John Russell, the Pirates Manager




Meeting Donnie Veal



Me celebrating the first Celiac Awareness Day at PNC Park!

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Just Announced: Pirates to have Gluten-Free Portable Stand!!


In honor of Celiac Awareness Day on Sunday, September 27, 2009, the Pittsburgh Pirates and Aramark will have a Gluten-Free Concession Stand available!

The Gluten-Free Concession Stand will be Federal Street Grill Portable at 117.

We will be serving the following menu items:

Hot Dog and gluten free bun-(Still working on buns.)
Lays potato chips
Salads with Italian dressing
Nachos with Salsa Only
Fruiticanna Fruit Smoothies
Peanuts
Soda
Redbridge beer

Tickets are still available for purchase. To be considered part of the Celiac Awareness Event, you must purchase your tickets through Chaz Kellem at 412.325.4731 or chaz.kellem@pirates.com

Outfield Box: $20.00 ($5.00 Donated)
L/R Grandstand: $12.00 ($2.00 Donated)

The game begins at 1:35 p.m. Sunday, September 27 will also be Fan Appreciation Day at PNC Park

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Help an Indiana Chef be certified Gluten-Free!

The National Culinary Institute's Can Gluten-Free Heat Up Your Business? by Ginny Marcin digs into the un-met need for more Gluten-Free Friendly dinning options.

This is a must read for restaurant owners and Celiacs! Click here to read the article!

In the article, they feature a Gluten-Free Food Service Training by the National Foundation of Celiac Awareness. On Saturday, October 17, I am hosting a Gluten-Free Benefit dinner at Benjamin's Restaurant (458 Philadelphia St., Indiana, PA 15701) which will raise money to train a chef from Indiana with the NFCA's Food Service Training. Tickets will be $48 which will include a non-alcoholic beverage, salad, entree, and dessert. All guests will recieve a "Gluten-Free Swag Bag" currently valued over $10 (with the goal to be over $20 worth of Gluten-Free products). If you are a company looking to expand your gluten-free product, please contact me to be included!

Here is a copy of the menu:

Mixed Greens Salad
Crisp Romaine, Iceberg, and field greens tossed with onions, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, & garbanzo beans in your choice of balsamic vinaigrette or ranch dressing
Entrées
Chicken Lafayette
Pan seared chicken tossed in a white wine sauce with artichoke hearts, asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes & Romano cheese
Pork Othello
Seared pork medallions encrusted in rice bread crumbs with grilled eggplant in a sundried tomato butter, topped with mozzarella cheese
Cedar Plank Salmon
Fresh salmon rubbed with assorted herbs and spices in sweetened plum butter; topped with a lemon-Romano pesto & pine nuts
Dessert
Assorted flavors of Gelato

Menu design provided by 360 Design Co (http://www.360designco.com)

To reserve your seat, please print out the form below and return with check to Jenna Drew, 74 Merrick Street, Indiana, PA 15701. If you are having problems printing out the form or have any questions, please e-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Get Your Tickets Now for the Inaugural Celiac Awareness Day at PNC Park!




Date: Sunday, September 27
Where: PNC Park
When: 1:35 p.m.

To order tickets, call Chaz Kellem at 412.325.4731 or e-mail at chaz.kellem@pirates.com.

Send the flyer by mail or fax:

Chaz Kellem
Celiac Awareness Day
PNC Park at North Shore
115 Federal Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15212

Fax: 412.325.4410

The game is on Fan Appreciation Day and a Kids Day, so there will be plenty of fun during the game!

Before the game, I will be hosting a gluten-free tailgate. More information on the location and gluten-free options will be available very soon!

More information on Kids Day and Fan Appreciation Day from Pirates.com:

Kids Day

Sunday home Pirates games are Kids Days! From the Kids Fun Zone on Federal Street before the game to after the final pitch when all kids are invited to Run the Bases right down on the field, Sundays are for the youngest Pirates fans. (Pre and post-game activities are subject to schedule and weather.)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Fan Appreciation Day

To show appreciation for the support of Pirates fans, random seat locations will be drawn and great prizes will be given away fans after each half-inning.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Gluten-Free Picnic with Chapter #130 Indiana PA Celiac Sprue Association Support Group



On Sunday, August 16, I attended a gluten-free picnic hosted by the Indiana, PA Celiac Sprue Association Support Group. Everyone was so kind, and I appreciate the warm welcome my family and I received!


Each guest prepared a dish (or two) to share, and I have to say, it's tough to choose a favorite! We had everything from GF Pasta Salad, GF Stuffed Peppers (grown in a garden), GF Bread by Sisters Three Gluten-Free, a GF and Dairy Free Betty Crocker Cake (Decorated by BiLo), plus many, many more options! Let's just say, we definitely had more than enough to eat!



I'm anxious to try all of the recipes that we exchanged! Especially one for GF Funnel Cake!

To stay up-to-date on events and meetings hosted by Chapter #130 Indiana Celiac Sprue Association Support Group visit their website at IndianaPACeliacs.org

Featured Article in the Indiana Gazette

Miss Indiana campaigns for celiac awareness

(Click Here to read it on IndianaGazette.com)

By MARGARET HARPER, mharper@indianagazette.net
Published: Sunday, August 16, 2009 1:55 AM EDT

For Jenna Drew and her mother, Denise, it's not so easy to go out to a restaurant and eat.

Denise, who suffers from celiac disease, and Jenna, who is gluten-intolerant, can't have foods with ingredients such as wheat, rye and barley, said Jenna.

That's why she is hoping to use her new title of Miss Indiana International 2010 to bring awareness to celiac disease and gluten intolerance.

Jenna, 22, of White Township, will compete for the state title of Miss Pennsylvania in March.

The Miss International pageant system ``has been developed to promote today's young women and their accomplishments,'' according to information on the group's Web site at www.papageants.com.

Jenna was awarded the Miss Indiana title based on her education, platform and an interview. Up to 12 contestants will compete in the March event, with the winner moving on to compete for the Miss International title in Chicago.

The winner in Chicago gets to work for a year promoting their platform.

Celiac disease affects 3 million people in the United States, Jenna said. It's the most common disease in the world, but she said 97 percent of people who have it don't know it.

People with the disease can't have wheat, rye, barley and sometimes oats, Denise said. With the digestive disease, the lining of the small intestine is damaged or destroyed by gluten, resulting in malnutrition.

For this reason, it's hard to dine out, said Jenna. Many restaurants don't offer gluten-free food, and she and her mother have to question the waiter or waitress about ingredients and how the food was prepared.

Denise calls it ``dying out'' instead of dining out because if her food was exposed to gluten, or someone was wrong about ingredients, it is a painful mistake for her.

``We just want it to be easier in Indiana to go out to eat,'' Jenna said.She hopes to bring awareness to her issue first locally, then at state and national levels.

To bring awareness about these issues, Jenna will host an event at the Pittsburgh Pirates game Sept. 27 at PNC Park. There will be a gluten-free tailgate party before the game and on-field recognition of Jenna's cause.

She has partnered with The Gluten Intolerance Group and the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness for her platform and events.

A portion of the ticket sales will benefit the groups.

Locally, there will be an event at Benjamin's, one of a few restaurants in the Indiana area to cater to those who cannot have gluten, Jenna said. The event is at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 16, and 40 tickets will be available. A gluten-free menu will be offered. For more information, visit Jenna's blog at www.missindianapainternational.blogspot.com.

Jenna's selection as Miss Indiana International 2010 was in part based on her education. A recent graduate of Penn State, Jenna majored in advertising, French and international studies, with a minor in international arts.

``I was a little bit of an overachiever,'' Jenna said.

She also completed three internships and studied abroad in France. She also worked for the Daily Collegian. She is looking into going to law school next fall.

She is a fifth-generation graduate of Indiana Area High School.

Jenna believes that pageants sometimes get a stigma. But after participating, she disagrees.

``It really helps you gain confidence,'' she said.

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**The Dinner will be held on Saturday, October 17. More information will be available at the end of the week.**

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Great News for Celiac Awareness!

Celiac Awareness Day with the Pittsburgh Pirates Information:

Date: Sunday, September 27
Where: PNC Park
When: 1:35 p.m.


Today, I met with Chaz Kellem of the Pittsburgh Pirates about setting up a Celiac Awareness Night! He was a very kind person, and I'm looking forward to working with him in the future!

We had a very positive meeting - from your response and our initiative, we even got to set up a date for our Awareness Night! Thank you to everyone who e-mailed me and expressed interest in the event. I will be sending out a lot more information!!


We're even planning a gluten-free tailgate before the game, offering gluten-free food and beverages! I will keep you posted as soon as I get more information!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

It's Like the Night Before Christmas!

So, tomorrow is the big day, and I am meeting with the Pittsburgh Pirates to talk about setting up a Celiac Disease Awareness Night! I'm so excited that I don't know how much sleep I'll get tonight! I can't wait to share the details with you tomorrow!

Betty Crocker recently came out with Gluten-Free Mixes: Chocolate Chip Cookies, Brownies, Devil's Food Cake, and Yellow Cake Mix. Tonight, my family and I made the brownies mix - and there is NO evidence! We ate the whole batch in one night! You've got to try them - and you can...for FREE! I was checking out Switch2GlutenFree.com and I came across his entry on how to get coupons for free mixes!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Celiac Disease Awareness with Pittsburgh Pirates

On August 5, 2009, I am meeting with Chaz Kellem to discuss setting up a Celiac Disease Awareness night with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In order to hold an awareness event, we must have at least 150 people (200 would be ideal/200+ would be unbelievable) attend the event.

I am creating a list of those who express interest in attending this Celiac Disease Awareness event, so I have some representation of the number of people who plan to attend and to greater the probability of setting the event up with Chaz.

So please, forward this to your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, support group members & leaders, Pirates fanatics, baseball lovers, and basically anyone who loves a great night of fun. (This event is not specifically for just Indiana only, but all Pittsburgh Pirates fans are included as well.)

To participate in this event, please send me an e-mail at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com by August 3, 2009 (sooner is better) with the following subject:

Celiac Disease Awareness event with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Also, include any questions you may have about the event.

More event details will be available after August 5, 2009 (such as day of the Celiac Disease Awareness Game).

Monday, July 20, 2009

E-mail Listing

Calling all those interested in receiving e-mail updates about Gluten-Free and Celiac Disease Awareness events in Indiana, PA and the surrounding communities!!!

I'm in the process of starting an e-mail database, so I can inform everyone of the events going on in the community. Please e-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com to join the mailing list!

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Mozzarelli's Gluten-Free Options in NYC

Mozzarelli's is a pizzera located near Madison Square Park in NYC. During the week, Mozzarelli's offers gluten-free pasta options. I went on a Sunday afternoon, and they still had some delicious pizza by the slice and by the pie. Out of the cheese, pepperoni and spinach & mushroon, I picked the spinach and mushroom slice...I definitely wasn't dissappointed!

Not only does Mozzarelli's offer entrees and pizza, but they have an entire wall dedicated to My Dad's Cookies. There is also a little sample cart of almost every cookie offered on the wall! Mmm...

If this wasn't enough, across the wall there is an entire cooler full of gluten-free desserts. I mean amazing desserts: carrot cake, chocolate cake, cheesecake, red velvet cake, and many more!

Thank you Mozzarelli's for understand our gluten-free needs!

Through Celiac Disease Awareness, I hope to empower Indiana to embrace the needs of the gluten-free community!

Book An Appearance with Miss Indiana International 2010

Do you have an up-coming event that you would like Miss Indiana International to appear? Contact Jenna at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com.
Jenna is available for the following events:

In your e-mail, please provide the following information:
  • The time, date, and location of the event
  • A brief description of the event
  • What Jenna would be required to do at the event
  • Any other relevant information or questions

Miss Pennsylvania International Pageant

I thought today would be a great day to talk a little bit about the Miss Pennsylvania International Pageant and the Pageant’s mission. The Miss International Pageant system is for women 19-29 from all around the globe, and it is dedicated to promote women and their life accomplishments.

The Miss Pennsylvania International Pageant allows women of Pennsylvania the opportunity to support a personally chosen platform and to become a positive role model in her community. In March 2010, I will represent Indiana, PA in Altoona for the title of Miss Pennsylvania International.

The Mission of the Miss International Pageant is “To Make a Difference.”

For more information:

Miss Pennsylvania International Pageant, click here.
Miss International Pageant, click here.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

Tips For Cooking Gluten-Free by Lisa Lundy

Cooking gluten-free can be intimidating at first. Luckily, there are advocates of allergy free cooking that we can follow. Lisa Lundy, author of The Super Allergy Girl Allergy & Celiac Free Cookbook, is a prime example! Lisa provides a personal resource for the at home guidance of gluten-free and allergen-free recipes. In this video, Lisa provides the top tips for cooking gluten-free! Thanks Lisa for being such a positive role model!

Other Videos: http://www.thesuperallergycookbook.com/videos.html

Friday, July 17, 2009

Celiac Disease Symptoms Checklist....Find Out Your Risk Now!

Do you have Celiac Disease? Use this simple symptoms checklist to find out if you need to talk to your doctor about Celiac Disease. Click here!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free: An Essential Guide for the Newly Diagnosed


The First Year, Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free by Jules E. Dowler Shepard, is not only a great resource for individuals diagnosed with Celiac Disease or following a Gluten-Free diet, but it also provides valuable information for family members and friends of those diagnosed - friends and family are there for support right?
In her guide, Jules provides helpful answers to the challenging questions associated with Celiac Disease!
Jules answers questions such as how celiac disease affects your entire body? How to avoid cross-contamination (great for friends, family, and spouses)? Where to find local support groups? Can I still dine out/travel/have dinner parties?
Living Without, April/May 2009“This easy read is an inspiration not just for celiacs but for anyone with food sensitivity.”

Gluten Intolerance Quarterly, Spring 2009“‘The First Year’ is such a practical, well-written guide to the disease and the gluten-free lifestyle that it should be a part of a starter kit that doctors give newly diagnosed patients.”

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Saliva-Based Celiac Disease Test Approved!

The MyCeliacID test has been approved by the FDA! This is a genetic test to determine whether or not you carry the celiac genes, so you don't have to go through the pain of eating gluten to get the correct diagnosis! The results take about a week, and they are sent directly to your home!

For more info, go to the MyCeliacID website.

Become an official sponsor of Miss Indiana Pennsylvania International here! E-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com for more sponsorship information.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Celiac Awareness Month in Plans!

October is Celiac Disease Awareness Month with the Celiac Sprue Association. To celebrate and spread the word, I am planning several events for the month in Indiana, PA. Speakers, workshops, and a dinner are in the plans! Check back later for more information!!

Become an official sponsor of Miss Indiana Pennsylvania International Here!
E-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com for sponsorship information.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Spreading Awareness of Celiac Disease

I just started working on my Human Interest story for GIG Magazine, a magazine published quarterly by gluten.net. The article will focus on my personal experiences with Celiac Disease, an auto-immune disorder.

I have chosen Celiac Disease Awareness as my platform for the Miss Pennsylvania International Pageant. Celiac Disease is the most common disease in the United State affecting 1 in 133 Americans. An enormous effort is needed to increase awareness of Celiac Disease since 97% of people with the disease are not even diagnosed!

I will keep you updated on my progress to spread awareness and knowledge of Celiac Disease.

Become an official sponsor of Miss Indiana Pennsylvania International Here!
E-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com for sponsorship information.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Hey Everyone!

As of tonight, I am the Miss Indiana Pennsylvania International 2010! I wanted to keep you updated on everything I am working on to be a positive role model to the women of Pennsylvania!

If you’re interested in me making an appearance, please feel free to e-mail me at MissIndianaInternational2010@gmail.com.

Become an official sponsor of Miss Indiana Pennsylvania International Here!
E-mail me at missindianainternational2010@gmail.com for sponsorship information.