I found something really great the other day and I was so pleased I could hardly contain my excitement.

I’d heard of Tate’s Bake Shop and I knew they made what were supposed to be some of the best gluten free chocolate chip cookies in The Hamptons. The thing about that is, I just don’t seem to make it out to The Hamptons all that often. I keep waiting for the Jitney to pick up at Beverly Glen and it never does. While I wait, I sometimes wander into Gelson’s, which, when you think about it, is kind of like the Hamptons. It’s generally full of cranky old people with money to burn and everything there costs twice as much as it would anywhere else.  Well what do you know, the other day in Gelson’s I happened upon none other than THE cookies from Tate’s! Packaged and ready to go at only $6 something a bag! I snatched up a bag and basically ate the whole thing in one sitting.

You all know that my first gluten free cookie love will always be GLOW but these cookies are different. Glow cookies are more substantial and chunkier with a great classic chocolate chip cookie flavor. These Tate’s cookies are thin, crispy rather than crunchy (a very real distinction) and sooooooo buttery. I was so excited by the thought that I would now be able to pick up a bag any time I wanted, no postage, no jitney! I would have to brave the old fogeys and sticker shock at Gelson’s but I could surely manage that. Well, friends, imagine my SHOCK, SURPRISE and SHEER JOY at discovering these EXACT cookies hiding out in disguise at my personal house of worship, Trader Joe’s!

Nice job trying to trick us, guys but even Violet can tell that these are the same cookies in different clothing. I taste tested them (just to make sure) and I am positive. Now my biggest problem is trying to make a bag last longer than two days! You’ve gotta try these.

yikes, too bright.

Okay, the pictures for this recipe are kind of weird. The truth of the matter is that I have no idea how to take pictures. Everything I know about photography I learned by trial and error and a 2 minute, exasperated lesson once attempted by a friend who got fed up with my utter lack of basic photographic knowledge. Taking pictures of food is one of those skills I wish I could just be blessed with without having to put in the necessary grunt work of “learning” and “understanding.” I don’t learn well by reading. I get fidgety and antsy and the technical stuff makes my eyes glaze over. My solution has been to fly by the seat of my pants; point, shoot, look, adjust the aperture, point, shoot, hope for the best. Seriously. That is how I take every picture you see on this blog.

Sometimes, this works out okay for me. The secret to any of the halfway decent looking pictures on this site is my lens. The same frustrated would-be photo instructor advised me a while back that I needed a good macro lens. I got one and suddenly my creepy, congealed, shadowy risottos were looking steaming, colorful and bokeh-riffic. A lens can only take you so far though. I think it’s time for me to invest in a class or two with a real teacher who is used to teaching numbskulls like myself what all those weird looking buttons and knobs do. In the meantime, I will keep doing my best to show you the food I cook while attempting to keep the grease/cheese/cornstarch off my camera. It sounds easier than it is.

out of focus/too dark

This recipe is so quick and easy it’s a joke but it also happens to be spectacular and a great way to use up not-so-tasty cherry or grape tomatoes or those that are inching past their prime. Oven-roasting tomatoes brings out their fruitiness and sweetness while garlic, balsamic and goat cheese turn a handful of tomatoes into a rich, complex and creamy sauce. With only a few ingredients and a very minimal investment of time, you have a perfect summer supper.

Ingredients:

- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1 small clove garlic, thinly sliced
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 tsp good balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 Tbsp crumbled goat cheese (I used Mitica Cana de Cabra, a tangy, slightly sour, super creamy spanish cheese that I am currently obsessed with)

- 8-10 oz dried spaghetti

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 F

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

flashy!

Toss halved tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and vinegar together in a bowl then spread evenly on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Place the sheet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes.

While tomatoes are roasting, prepare your preferred spaghetti of choice (I’ll say it again, mine is Ancient Harvest Corn/Quinoa blend) according to the specifications on the package.

I don't even know...

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and immediately toss them with pasta and goat cheese until the cheese has melted and formed a sauce with the tomatoes and their juices.

jesus, this cheese looks menacing

Inhale. Rejoice.

at least it tastes good!

welcome watermelon lassis, a good way to fall off the wagon!

Where do I begin? So much has happened since I saw you last. I stopped eating sugar and majorly reduced my carb intake, I went to Bali and to Hong Kong and ate whatever I darn well pleased, then I came back to life (back to reality) and started a new way of eating that is still evolving but is working for me…at the moment.

The great low-carb experiment was totally life changing. It changed me in a lot of ways and there were things I really liked about it.

#1. I lost weight. In 12 weeks I lost 20 lbs.

#2. I lost inches off my waist, hips, arms legs and (sadly) bust.

#3. I bonded with my sous chef over the highs of watching the pounds drop and the lows of plateaus and getting sick of eating the same things over and over

#4. I became an even MORE eagle-eyed label reader. Did you know almost any kind of bacon you can buy has some sugar in it or is made with sugar? I didn’t but I do now!

#5. I saved some money buying bacon and eggs in bulk and eating almost entirely at home

#6. I found my jam at In-N-Out. Ready? : Cheeseburger, well done, protein style, grilled onions, extra cheese, no spread, no condiments. BOOM! My mouth waters just thinking about it.

Overall though, I determined that this lifestyle is not for me. It sucked the color out of my life.

Callie's life on diet

Callie's life off diet

Food is my religion and without being able to explore the world of food with no restrictions (except gluten, obvy) I lost my zest for life. I was getting skinnier but I was miserable. I stopped reading food blogs, I stopped writing MY food blog and I stopped finding joy in every meal.

this was me

In Bali and Hong Kong I didn’t set any rules for myself. I ate whatever I wanted to eat whenever I wanted to eat it. I managed to eat gluten free without any hassle in Bali, in fact I was amazed at how easy it was.

rice flour banana pancakes with palm sugar syrup and fresh lime juice...every day!

Hong Kong was a different story. Soy sauce and flour were lurking in every bite and the communication barrier was pretty big so I gave up trying to avoid wheat on the first day and instead took up the philosophy that if I had to be in pain, I was going to enjoy every bite and eat the things I had been missing.

if you can't beat em...dim sum!

Mostly this meant bread. Plain, old, fresh-out-of-the-oven buttered rolls which are EVERYWHERE in HK. I also ate a lot of ice cream and Pocky. 7-11 was my savior.

my carb-heavy haul from HK 7-11

I came home from the trip prepared to see some scary numbers on the scale but I was pleasantly surprised.

The idea of going back to a black and white world without fruit and pie and pasta was unbearable so instead I have been eating the whole healthy foods I love and allowing myself to eat treats less frequently and in smaller portions. So far, so good. I plan to get back into the gym just as I’m getting back into the kitchen and I will fill you in on what I cook up!