Gluten-Free Gets Gorgeous!

Our March meeting went off without a hitch at our new location! Frederick's "The Loft," was a beautiful location and felt like we were eating in a real restaurant. Of course, all the delicious food really made the feeling complete!
Our topics this month was gluten-free living, with Shirley Braden, the leader of the King George Celiac and Gluten Intolerance Group. She demonstrated how eating gluten free is easy if you take a "real food" approach. We had a plethora of natural, gorgeous, gluten-free dishes at our meeting. Check them out! (Seen above - Bob's Rosemary Focacia bread - not gluten-free but a must-have at every Veg Group Meeting!)

Winner of "The most beautiful dish" award went to this Persian sweet rice dish, in honor of International Women's Day (March 8th, actually) and the Persian new year (Nawrooz - March 21st). The saffron and caramelized nuts made it pop!







There were two beautiful salads with gluten-free dressings on hand. This one had fresh pears in a slightly sweet dressing. Yum!










These peanut butter (?) chocolate chip cookies were vegan and gluten free!












A hot pasta tossed with tomatoes and peas!













Lentils with Maple Syrup - a stew with potatoes, tomato paste, carrots, onion, garlic and spices! Made with Bragg's Liquid Aminos instead of soy sauce, which often contains wheat.














This chickpea-eggplant bake was a big hit!



















These curried carrots and kale were another popular dish - in a beautiful serving dish as well!















Couscous is not gluten free, as it is actually a tiny pasta, but it certainly is vegan! What a springlike dish!

















This Chickpea-Tomato curry is a beautiful example of a hearty winter dish!
















Quinoa is a popular gluten-free grain, which contains all the amino acids, making it a complete protein. Easy to cook and work with, it is often paired with black beans, as seen in this yummy dish!








This crockpot was bursting to the seams with stewed beans and onions - yum!













Baked Beans are always a popular dish!














Halvah is a traditional Turkish dessert. A fudge made with tahini and pistachio!












And last but not least, amazingly delicious raw onion crackers from our resident raw foodist. Speaking of which, Roland will be next month's guest speaker! Join us on Saturday, April 4th, 11:30-1:00 (please be prompt!), to learn about eating raw foods, including juicing and dehydrating. There are links to raw food information on the side of this blog. Here's the newsletter block, describing our next event:

It’s Raw-some!

As spring has finally arrived, many of us are digging into our gardens, checking out the farmer’s markets, or looking forward to the first produce from our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). But how to cook so many fruits and veggies? Well, what about not cooking them at all?

On Saturday, April 4^th, from 11:30-1:00, Roland Hermann will share the benefits of a raw food diet for our monthly potluck meeting. As a 25-year veteran of the restaurant business, including co-creating and running a juice concept, Roland has been juicing for over 15 years and eating raw for 2-3 years. He will discuss the health aspects of juicing and raw foods as well as his new interest, Bio-dynamic wine. Roland will bring a juicer, dehydrator, and other equipment commonly used by raw foodists. Proponents of this lifestyle state that cooking alters and depletes the enzymes in food, thereby decreasing the amount of nutrients absorbed and forcing the body to work harder during digestion. So, plan on leaving our meeting, feeling lighter, happier, and healthier . . . just in time for spring!

As always, we encourage members and visitors to bring their own place settings, although we always have extras on hand! Donations are accepted in lieu of potluck vegetarian or vegan dishes. In honor of our speaker, we encourage raw dishes! Check out http://www.rawfoods.com/recipes/ to start. Please remember our location change! Frederick Heller, of Frederick’s restaurant on Princess Anne St. in downtown Fredericksburg (across the street from Hyperion), has graciously offered his Loft above Frederick’s for our meetings!