A perfect (gluten-free) anniversary

My husband and I have only been married for two years, but quite honestly, these have been the healthiest   two years I've had in a very long time. On our wedding day, I didn't know I had celiac disease (I was diagnosed a few months later), but we served a wonderful meal of new mexican fajitas (on corn tortillas), fresh homemade salsa, a beautiful seasonal green salad, spanish rice and beans. Essentially our wedding was gluten-free...until the cake! I don't remember feeling sick or bad on that special day, thank goodness! Fast forward and here I am eating cake, pizza, waffles etc... just made a little differently than before. I am forever grateful for having an extremely supportive husband who loves everything (so he says) that I cook and is always open to eating gluten-free. I look forward to the many, many meals we will share.

As for a perfect way to celebrate our 2 years together we traveled to the big city...Denver is only a 30 minute drive from our current home, but it's worlds apart from our life in Boulder (this topic could be another post entirely).

First things first, dessert before dinner at Pinkberry! Did you know that ALL Pinkberry flavors are gluten-free? Yes! I love this place. I think it's best to stay away from the toppings because you never know if the oreo-cookie serving spoon accidently fell into the chocolate shavings :( The fruit toppings are more isolated from the other toppings, so those are usually a safe bet, to avoid cross-contamination.

Dinner at Linger. Well,  supposedly I live in the "foodiest town in America" but I fell in love with Linger. Sorry Boulder. Not only did the waiter bring us two glasses of complimentary prosecco,  he was incredibly well versed on the issue of cross-contamination and being a celiac. I was taken more than serious. I was taken care of.

Linger has an amazing view of the Denver skyline from just about any seat in the restaurant. The careful attention to detail was well done, from the food, to the menus, to the bottle of water. Did I mention the food was absolutely incredible. The plates are small and the idea is to share a few dishes and savor the flavors. Linger. Enjoy.

Here's a sampling of what we had...a bowl of corn and poblano soup with Dungeness crab and avocado, sweet-potato waffle fries with chipolte ketchup (fried in a "clean" fyer), seared diver scallops with apple, and watercress salad, and a grilled chicken, grilled corn, avocado, bacon, french feta yumminess cobb salad (with grilled GF bread). Check out the awesome menu here.

The Linger eatuaries sign 

from the LoHi neighborhood

Gardens at the Gregory Inn

Next on the list: a  quaint bed and breakfast in LoDo. The Gregory Inn.  My amazing gluten-free breakfast included a crustless quiche, apple-chicken sausage, fresh fruit, coffee and juice. Lovely. The chef (Todd) was helpful and knew just how to make a safe meal for me! Breakfast on the roof-top patio was a perfect start to the day.

Breakfast at the Gregory Inn

Last, but certainly not least it's important to have dessert (again).  This is one of the easiest cakes you can make! Happy celebrating!

Flourless Chocolate Cake 
(circa 1997, Gourmet Magazine)

Ingredients
4 oz fine-quality, bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for sprinkling

Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F and butter an 8inch round baking pan. Line the bottom with a round of wax paper and butter the paper.
Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double broiler, or metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, melt chocolate with butter, stirring until smooth. Remove top of double broiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in the middle of oven for 25 minutes (or until top has formed a thin crust).
Cool cake in pan on a rack for ~5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate. Dust cake with additional cocoa powder and serve with fresh berries, whip cream, sorbet, etc... whatever you like!

 the ingredients

complete! 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookies

This recipe comes straight off the bag of Gluten Free Rolled Oats from Trader Joe's. GF oats can be really expensive, but if you have a Trader Joe's in your area pick these up. They are grown in dedicated oat fields, packaged in a gluten free facility and they are cheap! This recipe makes a lot of cookies, store them in the freezer...sometimes they taste even better frozen!

Ingredients
1/4 cup butter
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup sugar
3 cups GF rolled oats
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or sunflower seeds)
1 tsp bourbon vanilla
1 cup creamy peanut butter (or sunflower butter)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine sugar, brown sugar and butter and beat until creamy. Add eggs, vanilla, and baking soda and mix well.  Add peanut butter and until well incorporated.

Stir in oats, chocolate chips and nuts. Place teaspoon full of dough onto a lightly greased (or parchment paper lined) cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until lightly brown around the edges. (makes approximately 40 to 48 cookies depending on size).  Enjoy!