Gluten-free Waffles

Turns out, the gluten-free waffle mix found in fine groceries everywhere is not so fine.  Like many packaged gluten-free baked products, the mix waffles come out a bit dry and dense.  So I have been experimenting with making my own; and today's batch came out very pleasing indeed.

Wet Ingredients:
2 eggs, beaten
Half cup vegetable oil
2 cups buttermilk

Dry Ingredients:
3/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup fine cornmeal
1/8 cup coconut flour
3/4 cup (nearly) white rice flour
1 Tbsp baking powder

The Iced Tea Lunch

Some days I crave a particular cuisine - Thai, Indian, Chinese, etc. But some days when I have the opportunity to eat lunch out, what I want most is the experience.  I want to sit at a table, peruse a menu, and have a pleasant person ask me if I'd like more iced tea in my glass.  Diner or upscale restaurant, the principle is the same.

Occasionally, the experience transcends my basic expectations. At a hotel cafe in Sacramento, for instance, the tea arrived with a refill pitcher. The side dish options included sweet potato fries. The BLT used heirloom tomatoes. And the BLT was made possible by the procurement of bacon from a humanely-raised pig from a local family farm (meeting my own private kosher standard).

All this lunch lacked was the time to linger. But that, on work travel, would be too much to ask or to expect.

Plu-perfect

At the grocery store, you owe exactly what the cash register declares on its digital readout. At the farmers market, the vendor displays a price, weighs your produce, and then rounds down if he or she feels like it. Or you round up, if you choose.

Recently I bought a handful of beautiful little yellow nectarines, which came to two dollars and 80 cents. I was about to say "keep the change" when the vendor offered to throw in a gorgeous yellow pluot to knock off the last 20 cents.  Sure, I said.

I've never been a huge pluot fan - why cross a perfectly good plum with a perfectly good apricot? But this one specimen, a serendipitous purchase, was perfect.

Strawberry Toast

Who says dessert requires chocolate? Strawberry toast works equally well as breakfast, a snack, or a sweet treat in lieu of cookies, pastry or ice cream. All it requires is bread (home-made gluten-free shown here), a little cinnamon sugar, and fresh strawberries sliced on top.  Butter doesn't hurt, but can be skipped unless the bread is very dry.  Opinions vary about whether to toast the bread before topping it, or warm the berries as part of the toasting process.  I myself opt to toast, then butter, sprinkle, and garnish with strawberry slices. Anyway you do it, fresh ripe berries are the key.

Ambrosia

If you like cantaloupe, an ambrosia melon will strike you as, well . . . ambrosia.
I have never encountered one in a grocery store, but talked to the farmer at her booth during Hot Harvest Nights. Watch out, she warned - a whole melon can disappear before the second person gets to try it!

Could it really be that luscious? Yes. But I only ate half the melon on my first try.

Gum: Food or Art?

San Luis Obispo offers many good restaurants, and a marvelous farmers market.

But when you visit, look for Gum Alley. A dynamic piece of living art, locals and tourists alike add to the texture and colors of the walls.

If it grosses you out, search for it after you've dined.  If it delights you, go view it to whet your appetite.