BREAKING NEWS :

I am thinking they will be very busy after the Gluten Free Foodies hear about this!









I have been driving by Stella's at 19980 10th Avenue NE in Poulsbo, every time I go to Central Market. I have somewhat of a chant or mantra that goes something like this ...



When I walked into the restaurant I was surprised and happy to see such a warm, spacious and tastefully decorated establishment. I felt as if I were walking into someone's home. Fun and creative artwork on the walls, nice lighting and warm rich woods. This is the kind of place where you could hang out with your family and friends for hours and eat really great Gluten Free Pizza!

So the other night, as I was getting dressed, I reminded myself to have an open mind about this special event. I thought, who knows, maybe I might learn something new? When I arrived I gave Fernanda a big hug and we sat down to catch up before the festivities. She also assured me that everything on the menu was Gluten Free, just for me! How sweet is that?! A really handsome and nice waiter, Andrew, came over and introduced himself to me and asked about what type of cocktail we wanted to start the night off. I thought to myself, yikes! how am I going to do this? Both Fernanda and he recommended a refreshing Grapefruit Cocktail with Cazadores Blanco, perfect for the summer. When it arrived I took a small sip and realized this is not the flavor I remembered. This was smooth and floral. I only had a few sips as I ate my favorite freshly made salsa and chips. I get really distracted when this is in front of me. The salsa has roasted tomatoes, garlic, cilantro, onion and I am not sure what peppers. I tried to get the recipe but no luck! The corn chips are perfectly crisp with such flavor. They sprinkle sea salt and squeeze fresh lime juice on them while they are still hot from the fryer. I just about polished off the chips and salsa, the first course arrived. I did notice, however that the combination of the drink with the chips and salsa went really well together. The flavors were fresh and bright.




In between, Tania told us about Reposado, made from 100% Blue Agave, rested for over two months in new small American white oak casks. Rich aroma, floral and slightly sweet. It goes really well with - Oranges sprinkled with Cinnamon! It was so good and I was so shocked that it was sweet and creamy, two words I would not think of using when describing ... Tequila!

I know, I know that sandwich looks absolutely amazing. Forgive me ... that Gluten Free Spicy Italian sandwich looks absolutely amazing! Well it was the best Italian sandwich I have had in like 7 years! Totally stacked so high I could barely take a bite without squishing it down. Actually ... oh! ... that made it even better because all of the juices from the pepperocinis oozed out all over the hot cappicola, pepperoni, hard salami and in with the garlic Parmesan peppercorn dressing ... um ... and the sharp provolone and mozzarella romaine, tomato and red onion! The flavors rolling together like a waves in the ocean ... Oh man ... let's do it again ... more please!

It was very easy to find just a few minutes up the road off the ferry on highway 11042 SR 525, Suite 122 in the Ken's Korner shopping center. 360 341 3940 is the phone number.

All of the meats and cheeses are Boar's Head and Gluten Free! You can order off the menu and tell them you want the Gluten Free bread. They will take extra care to make sure that the cross contamination is little to none as best as they can. We ordered a side of the potato salad and I am so glad we did. It was almost better than mine.

It was creamy and I think it had cheese and pickles in it, perfectly seasoned. We ended up splitting the sandwiches and also ordered the Classic Turkey and Bacon along side the Spicy Italian. The Turkey Bacon was loaded and a meal in itself. You will walk away very satisfied. The sandwiches also come with a Pickle ... of course!

I was so impressed with Kim and her team. They were all so sweet, calm and fast. Kim said hello to everyone by their name while making their food. She didn't skip a beat! Smiles and all! Kim even was sweet to my mama! One of her friends, Jeff came in to get his daily meal and she introduced me to him. It was a great feeling being there, as if we were family. Pickles Deli has been in business for three years. You can tell by the line that never stopped the entire time I was there. Please contact Kim for more info about her Gluten Free menu, any updates and catering.

While I was in the area I went into the local grocery stores. Star Store in Langley, the other is in Bayview Corner, carry a very nice selection of Gluten Free treats from breads, crackers, meats, chips, cookies and snack bars. The Goose Grocery also has a variety of Gluten Free items in their freezer and snack sections as well. Along the highway in Clinton, the FoodMart also had a great big sign that said "Gluten Free Products ..." so I had to stop and go inside. Great selection of some fun, hard to find things like Pik-Nik Shoestring Potatoes. It actually says GLUTEN FREE on the back of the can!

Stay the day, weekend or week with no worries because you can find some good Gluten Free food on Whidbey!

Enjoy!

Lisa

into - the fire roasted poblano peppers with a bit of smoky tomato, rice, mussels and a big bite of spicy chorizo - all perfectly seasoned by the outdoor fire and glowing with that saffron hue.

Ohhh! well ... let me tell you that my birthday wish came true this year!

My favorite way to celebrate with friends is to cook a really big meal that we can make together. Each guest brought a portion of the ingredients to add to the meal. We arrived at my friend Ana's summer house on Bainbridge Island around 3 pm. Luckily I made a few extra treats to kick start the festivities. More about those later ... but I highly recommend that you feed your guests while making this meal because it will take up to 2 hours. After all this is meal was originally created in Valencia, Spain as a laborer's or poor man's meal cooked over a fire in the middle of the field where they worked.

The name Paella refers to the metal pan that the dish is made in. It has 2 small handles and is somewhat shallow. This type of pan is usually very wide and flat on the bottom which allows for even heating over the fire. I have always wanted a traditional paella pan but do not have one. Luckily for me, my friend Gail let me borrow her two Paella pans. If you don't have one, I would suggest going to The Spanish Table in the Pike Place Market in Seattle. They have everything, I mean absolutely everything that you could ever want or need that has to do with Spanish cooking and Paella. They have Paella pans that range from 22 cm to 115 cm! I can't even imagine making Paella in a 115 cm pan ... but oh how fun would that be?

So we heated up the grill and started to roast the poblano peppers. Once the peppers started to blister on all sides we put them into a paper bag to let them sweat. Then we put the Roma tomatoes on for just a few minutes on all sides. At this point we began to work in shifts, the tomatoes went inside the house with Ana and Cynthia so they could puree them into a smoky sauce. Dave, Marla's husband, helped me with grilling the chicken, just enough to get the flavor started and toget all sides with grill marks. While the chicken was cooking, Sandy was a trooper and cut up 4 big onions - 2 red and 2 white, no tears! When the chicken was done we took it off the grill, put it on a plate, covered it with foil and put it to the side. We added a tad bit more of olive oil, the onions and the chorizo to the pan. I used Isernio's chorizo because it is Gluten Free. I removed the casings and added small pieces, about 1.5 - 2 inch pieces into the pan with the onions. In the meantime, Marla and Gwen took the poblanos from the bag, removed the blistered skin and cut them up. Once the onions were translucent and the chorizo was cooked, we added the poblano peppers. Then the tomato sauce went in and the rice. We used a brown rice but there are various types that you can use. I also added some Pacific Foods Gluten Free Chicken broth to both pans to allow the rice to cook. A traditional Spanish rice for paella is Matiz short grain rice, which you can also purchase at the Spanish Table.