Stuffing face gluten free style

Sometimes companies send me things to review.  (I accept gladly, in case you were wondering, but I NEVER guarantee a positive review.)  When I got home from California on Tuesday there was a box of candy waiting on me from Unreal Candy Company.  Folks. This is the good stuff. Mother tested and daughter approved.

They have created a candy that you can feel good about passing out to kids for Halloween.  No artificial blah blah, no corn syrups, no preservatives and no GMO ingredients. Bam! Made with Gluten Free ingredients (but made on wheaty equipment).  And best of all, the company was started by a parent and his kid who checked out the back of a regular ole candy and saw all the junk in it and embarked on a mission to make a better for you Snickers bar.  Their candies mimic Peanut M&M's, Mars, etc, and I dare say in several cases, they are way better.  I wasn't thrilled with peanut butter cups but Unreal 8 knocked our socks off!

Check their website for a store near you or you can grab a bag at Target when you're shopping Tricks or Treats.

Onward.

I love Whole Foods.  They have the absolute best store brand Gluten Free pizza crust.  For someone who loves pizza as much as I do, it was a major sticking point in me going GF. My first thought was "But what about pizza?!!!" But this crust even passed the husband's review!  I had some Trader Joe's Chianti Red Wine Sausage in the fridge and a few figs on hand so I made this. Absolute, hands down yum.  My GF neighbor sampled and it was holy moseses all around.  Good stuff. 

[One Gluten Free Pizza Crust quick-thawed in toaster oven for a minute then brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic.  Two tablespoons spaghetti or marinara sauce. One cup of Motz cheese. Onion, sausage, figs.... or toppings of choice.  Toaster oven until nice and bubbly.]

Earlier on Friday I bebopped around downtown Greenville for a while. I had to go meet some new monkeys at the Greenville Zoo for the day job and wanted to say hi to Mallie at O-cha Tea and get my little tea canister refilled with Roobios Lavender tea before meeting my friend Emily for lunch at Overlook Grill. 

I'd been wanting to go to Overlook for a long time just for the view alone and sitting outside for lunch on a day like yesterday was perfect. I got there early so I caught up on my local culture with Talk and Town.  

Downtown fountains were a weird color pink for today's big breast cancer walk. And the businesses were starting to decorate too. Liz Daly of Daly Designs had garland made of bras outside of her gallery which was way cute, but somehow I left downtown without taking a picture.  You can go to her linked page for evidence.

Oh!  And I wanted to tell you about the cake I made!  It was my sister's bday and my mom and I were panicking because it's a birthday, and well, you're supposed to eat cake, right?  So bought this mix:

and whipped it up with eggs and yogurt (instead of the oil it called for).  I put some raspberry jam between the layers and covered it with a chocolate ganache made with 60% Ghiradelli chips and whipping cream.  The cake part had a texture like chocolate cake and marshmallows had a baby, but pretty awesome for gluten free! I'll probably just use the oil next time to see how it changes the texture. Anyway, here it is:

My daughter wanted a second slice, and as picky as she is, that is saying a lot! Who knows, maybe I'll have a gluten free kid soon.

For my nongluten free readers, don't panic!  I'm not just blogging gluten free now.  Stay posted!

Enjoy your Saturday.