a few slices of Breads From Anna bread
black bean soup
brie with marmalade and pecans
Our hosts took us on a vigorous hike in the snowy woods, narrating our walk with information about the terrain, the history of the area, and frequent, fascinating stops to look at and identify animal tracks. We then headed back home for a dip in the hot tub and a delicious dinner which included brie cheese warmed in the oven with marmalade and pecans spread over the top, and rice crackers for dipping (see picture above), squash and kale risotto, arugula with pears, red pepper, dried cranberries, glazed pecans,and balsamic cilantro dressing, and grilled marinated extra-large tiger shrimp. Oh, and for dessert, homemade little pots of lemon cloud!
butternut squash and kale risotto
arugula with pears, red pepper, dried cranberries, glazed pecans,
and balsamic cilantro dressing
grilled, marinated large tiger shrimp
individual pot of lemon cloud
And if that weren’t enough to completely bowl us over, we started Sunday morning with homemade Cococnut Chocolate Chip Muffins and fresh sliced pineapple. We then burned off all the calories with another vigorous hike in the New Hampshire woods. Upon returning, we had a most glorious brunch which consisted of Scrambled Eggs with cheese, kale, and mushrooms and homemade Irish Soda Bread.
Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffin
Irish Soda Bread
All in all, it was a glorious weekend with two new friends who treated us like honored guests. It was lovely to be with people who helped us appreciate the outdoors, in fact, they gave us a new look and appreciation for living in the northeast during the winter! And to stay with people who not only care about food and its’ presentation as much as we do, who serve simple, elegant, delicious gluten free fare, and who enjoy a good game of dominoes (even if we totally taught them how to play it incorrectly!!!), well, it was just one of the most enjoyable weekends we’ve had in a long time.
To all of our gluten free friends, may you be blessed with the company of good friends and delicious food!
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
How wonderful! How lucky you are to have found new friends and to be able to share dinner with them without any fears…we all should be so lucky!
Loved the food too!!!
Can I be their friend too?
What an upbeat encouraging blog and the pics are fantastic. I am delighted that you had such a fabulous time. HUGS
A little green monster is sitting on my shoulder right now. Great friends that cook great food that is also GF – lucky, lucky you!
Yum! What is lemon cloud?
Lemon cloud was like a lemon souffle. It was light and delicious!
Ellen,
Congrats on having such friends! And learning just how much fun it is to go out into the woods.
I know that when I moved to the Pacific NW from NYC, it took me a while before the allure led me to the woods. But now I won’t go back to being in the house, even on rainy days.
Just wish I could get that soda bread recipe for my tea afterwards.
I think I may need to work on this one.
Thanks!
Droooool everything looks DIVINE! Can I come along next time? lol
-Brenda
Visit My Gluten Free Blog the Book of Yum
Jean (GF Momma),
The Irish Soda Bread recipe comes from Healthy Gluten-free Eating by Darina Allen and Rosemary Kearney (from the UK). It is a wonderful book and one worth adding to any Celiac’s library of cookbooks.j
And yes, the woods. We had such a great time and can’t wait to go hiking again in the hills of New Hampshire!
Ellen
Brenda,
I can’t seem to find your blog. The URL doesn’t work. I hope I get to see it soon – inquiring minds want to know!