In last week's episode of "Parenthood," the parents of a child recently diagnosed with Asperger's visit another family, who put their son on a gfcf diet. When asked if they wanted to stay and sample some gluten-free pasta, they turned up their noses and said a quick and loud "no thanks!" Although this show has really made a good impression on me on portraying what a family goes through when a child is diagnosed with a disability and the collective denial that leads up to it, I noticed that often in the movies ("Bedtime Stories" comes to mind), gluten-free food is equated with something disgusting and absurdly exotic or overly protective.

Special diets sometimes get a reputation for being a trendy, new-age, kumbayah approach to feeling healthy. This kind of portrayal is laughable, especially considering that most of us eat a variety of "gluten-free" food every day, whether we mean to or not. Here is a list of foods in my fridge right now: Hummus, carrots, strawberries, salad, leftover Strogonoff, pickles, apples, juice, turkey slices, salsa, leftover sloppy Joe's, potatoes, butter spread, tomato soup, eggs, rice, apple sauce, yogurt, rice milk.

All of these foods could be in anyone's refrigerator (except maybe the rice milk). Exotic? New age? NO. But I would argue that they are all very healthful. And a lot of food is like that. Peel back the layers and make a meal out of actual food and you can almost always take out the gluten. Or the nuts. Or the dairy.

As those with celiac well know, an allergy, intolerance or GI disease forces us to think differently about food. Well, I guess I would argue that it forces us to actually think about food. And that is how we all should be eating.

On the menu tonight was the dreaded gluten-free pasta many times introduced as an out-of-this-world phenomena on the screen, big and little. I tossed some quinoa elbow noodles with a hardy spaghetti sauce, threw in whole mushrooms and served it with corn. If I took out the word "quinoa," this meal could be the same one being served at the house next door.

No one was complaining at my table.

Here is what I plan to make tomorrow. It is a classic dish that everyone will love, gluten-free or not. Derived from Pork Fried Rice recipe in Carol Fenster's "Gluten-Free Quick & Easy" (Avery, 2007):

Chicken Fried Rice
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 large eggs
1/2 pound cooked chicken, cut into little cubes
2 tablespoons wheat-free tamari soy sauce (such as San-J)
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3 green onions, sliced
1 carrot, coarsely shredded
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup gf chicken broth
4 cups cooked rice, chilled

Heat oil in wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add eggs and cook, stirring constantly. Transfer to bowl and set aside.
Add all the ingredients except broth and rice to same pan. Increase heat to medium high and cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add broth and rice and toss. Reduce heat, cover and cook 2 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in eggs and turn off heat.