My number one concern when I thought I had to give up gluten? Beer.

And I'm not alone. Most beer-drinking adults would agree that you can take away their pasta, their Wonder bread --- but hands off the beer.

You see, beer is made by malting and brewing grains. Malting begins by soaking grain (usually barley) in water long enough to begin germination. The grain is then heated to stop germination and develop enzymes, which break down starches into sugars. Other grains, such as wheat, rye and oats can be malted and used in the brewing process to develop a variety of styles of beer. That kind of leaves out a big (and growing) population of those who can not digest gluten.

Well, lift up a frosty mug and get ready to fill it with a new brew. It turns out, there are many companies using an alternative to gluten-bearing malting ingredients, such as the most common: barley. New Grist, for instance, is brewed from sorghum, hops, water, rice and gluten-free yeast grown on molasses. "These ingredients are carefully combined to form a crisp and refreshing "session ale" sure to be popular among those with Celiac Disease, but really brewed for anyone with an appreciation for great tasting, handmade beer," its Web site claims.

A trip to the local Whole Foods produced three brands of beer free of gluten. Bottled among the microbrews were a small variety of gf options. I grabbed a case of Redbridge to sample. It was cleverly packaged, so I didn't notice the Anheuser-Busch symbol on the bottom. I must admit, I enjoy a lot a beer, but am not too fond of Bud/Busch varieties. But a few friends, and non-celiac Bud drinkers, gave me a big thumb's up!

Next up, I'm trying Bard's Tale Beer: Dragon's Gold and Lakefront Brewery's New Grist Ale. Bard's was started by a few fellow "beer snobs" like myself, who were diagnosed with celiac and wanted to continue enjoying a good brew. Bard's is available at local beer stores, so I'm hopeful it will be a better fit for my beer palate.

Cheers!

Click here to see gluten-free beers from around the world!

A recent trip to the farmers market rekindled me with an old friend: Sansonetti Gourmet Food. Gluten-free, MSG free and nut-free, the sauces produced by Sansonetti are made locally (Holly) and in small batches. I picked up a bottle of Michigan Cherry BBQ Sauce, Michigan Maple BBQ Sauce and Michigan Apple Glaze. The possibilities were endless.

Here is a list of recipes at the company's site. I enjoy both the cherry and apple glazes on chicken and pork. The maple is good on meatloaf or fish. Here is my own recipe that uses a lot of Michigan products:

Michigan Pork Chops
4 thin-cut, boneless chops
4 strips bacon (Kraft, Applegate Farms or from your local farmer)
1 apple (get some from your local orchard!)
salt and pepper to taste
Michigan Cherry BBQ Sauce (Get at Hiller's, Howell Farmer's Market or here)

Salt and pepper chops and place in small casserole dish (big enough so the chops can lay side-by-side). Top each with 2-3 think slices of apple and wrap each with 1 strip bacon. Cook 375 F for about 25 minutes. Pour about 1 cup sauce over top and cook another 5 minutes until bubbly. Serve with some fresh acorn squash or market veggies. A Michigan fall feast!

Every day I have been packing a lunch for my picky eater, and every day most of it comes home in his lunch box. I already shifted his morning snack to a Silk chocolate milk box and a bag of pretzels with some marshmallows. That seemed to do the trick, since other kids are getting chocolate milk in cartons. He is happy to have what everyone else is having, for a change. And I am happy I can provide that.

But at lunch time, he seems bored with some of his standards, such as tater tots and (Boar's Head) bologna, a ham and cheese (rice cheese) sandwich or ham rolls. It's shocking to me that he won't eat these things, since he has been devouring them every day for as long as I can remember.

Fortunately, I had just visited the cake-decorating section at JoAnne Fabrics and picked up some funky little cutters that are intended to cut out fondant. I purchased them so I could experiment with cutting out fruit leathers and applying the little shapes to sweets. I thought that would jazz up special treats (and also get in some extra nutrition). But, I had fun playing with lunch box items instead! If you want to see what I'm talking about, check out the cutters here.

This weekend, I stacked cut-out cheese slices with gluten-free crackers and cut out ham slices and cheese and placed them on a slice of toasted Ener-G tapioca bread (see photo above). His eyes lit up as bright as the stars on top of his sandwich. There's no way this is coming home in his lunch box on Monday!

And, to prove to my husband that gluten-free food can be delicious, I made this for Sunday night football:



This dip is a favorite at gatherings, and when I called my friend to get her recipe, it occurred to me that it is pretty much gluten free. I was pretty excited that my husband enjoyed it so much. I had tackled this football munchee and left gluten on the sidelines. I played around with the olives on the top and made it in shape of a football (see photo above), but have another idea: Green onions for a field with sour cream piped across the pan to make yard lines.

I know the TV's not on in the kitchen, but it's all fun and games in here anyway today.

Taco Dip
First Layer: 31 ounce can of refried beans (check labels, but Amy's brand is for sure gluten free)
Second Layer: A 24 ounce container of sour cream mixed with taco seasoning (Penzy's has gluten-free mix or see recipe* below)
Third layer: Guacamole (4 avocados, 1/2 an onion, juice of one lemon, 1 clove of garlic in food processor)
Fourth layer: 2 cups of shredded cheese (Kraft is safe, but also Kroger brand is gluten-free)
Fifth layer: Tomatoes (about 2), chopped -- or play around with black olives (Kroger brand is OK), green onions or whatever you want to top it with. I also have thought about making a Halloween dip with a pumpkin out of the cheese and black olives for bats. Oh, the possibilities...

Serve with gluten-free tortilla chips and/or veggies.

*Taco seasoning: Mix 1 teaspoon each of cumin, chili powder, salt, garlic powder, cornstarch and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder.

Tip: I had trouble thinking of a way to make this dairy-free. Rice cheese shreds have casein in them, but it doesn't seem to bother my picky eater. I might just skip the sour cream layer, add a thin layer of Tofutti cream cheese mixed with seasoning and top with the shredded rice cheese. But his picky palate might not enjoy this particular snack. I have a feeling he would be happy with just the chips, especially if they're the blue ones.